redblueamerica.com

GO SEE THIS MOVIE - you won't be disappointed. It's not a political statement, it's not a trite string of soundbytes. If anything, it's a love affair with those soldiers who were so moved by 9/11 that they enlisted in the military the next day. "Stop Loss" is their struggle - with families left back at home, a war no one could have prepared them for, and a country that simultaneously asks everything of them and tells them it's not enough.

And you know what? You come out of the theatre thinking, "what can I do?" The camaraderie that has always been the only good part of the horror of war fairly jumps off the screen, and for a moment, everyone in that theatre realizes that the burden of armed conflict lies on all of us. If we're not in uniform, we should be making sure those who wear them are taken care of. This nation has forgotten the lessons of 'Rosie the Riveter' and 'Uncle Sam,' whose propaganda taught WWII-era Americans that we are all in this together. it may have been propaganda, but it was true, too. The idea that, because we aren't rationing sugar and steel, the average person can have no impact on the war effort is such a cop-out. We need a new, comprehensive GI-Bill. Write your senator. We need to get "stop loss" off the books. Write your senator. Or wait, you know what? Why don't you just thank a veteran for their service. Start there. Start with the simple act of admitting that, no matter what you thought of the war or think of it now, the biggest heroes you'll ever see are the ones who signed up to put their lives on the line.

If there's one thing I can thank President Bush for it's this: he called out my generation to stand and defend, and the greatest role models I'll ever have are the ones who said, "yes."