logophile
Verbose
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2004
- Posts
- 7,368
I read this editor's note recently in a magazine and thought it was worth sharing. Hope the rest of you enjoy it as well!
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Dear Readers,
There’s always a lot to think about in the New Year. The 2004 Darwin Awards, the year in review, and hopes and predictions for 2005 all made the short list of possible blog topics for January. But as I was driving down North Ave. the other day, I was struck for the hundredth time by a visual that has passed, for me, from curiosity to questioning to moral ire. I’m talking about the now-ubiquitous "Support Our Troops" car magnets.
My initial reaction, being as cynical as the next person, was irritation. Who would disagree with that statement? Is there a vast, secret body of troop-haters out there who need to be chastised? The Viet Nam era is over. There will be no spitting on veterans, at least in this country, ever again. Perhaps that was the only good lesson learned from that atrocity of history, however painfully. So what gives now?
I tried to keep an open mind, though. It’s hard to fault sheep for following; it’s in the nature. When we see a thing we like (especially when it’s eye-catching and heart-tugging at the same time), it’s natural to embrace it, and to want to give it the benefit of the doubt. When I first saw the yellow offenders now known, to me at least, as the Ribbon Movement, I assumed that, like the pink breast cancer awareness ribbons, they were some kind of organized fundraiser for our fighting men and women.
But soon I started seeing mutations: red, white and blue (sometimes WITH yellow), Black POW/MIA, ribbons for specific units, etc. I first saw them for sale at a big box store checkout lane. I scanned the packaging on several versions for some sigh that even a tiny portion of my $2.99 would somehow actually support our troops, but there was no such language there. My suspicions were confirmed. A quick sniff and I detected the aroma of capitalism. I decided to go online to and see if I could learn something that would help me sort it out. What I found dismayed me, if I wasn’t surprised. Evidently (everyone who already knew this will be smirking about now), there’s no limit to how low profiteers will sink to appeal to our country’s jingoistic need to show our solidarity. And no limit to our cultural myopia in regards to what constitutes "support."
On the ‘net, I found prices for a single yellow sticker or magnet ranging from free w/SASE and two first class stamps (yellowribbonamerica.com, the apparent founders of the Ribbon Movement) to $8.94 after shipping at autobarn.net, with an average price of about $2.99 plus two- to four dollars in shipping. And guess how much of that money is used to support our troops? In most cases, not one single penny.
In fairness, there are some organizations using their powers for good in regards to the Ribbon Movement. I was surprised to read that Bed, Bath and Beyond is selling them for $1.99 and giving $1 to a USO fund. Not bad. And with some deep digging, I found Brownie troops, church groups and local veterans’ organizations selling them as fundraisers to help soldiers receive Girl Scout cookies, Kevlar vests and extra toothpaste. But mostly, it appears, people are just buying them and slapping them on their cars in the same way we all hung flags on our houses after 9/11. To show "support." And to line the pockets of the carpetbaggers who never fail to capitalize on war. How lucky the culprits are to have found such willing victims as we, reflexive consumers without the presence of mind to think beyond showing others who we are by our choice of possessions.
So, my wish for the New Year is this: that we rediscover the joy of the anonymous good deed. Take that $2 or $8 and donate it directly toward body armor or laundry detergent or a personal comfort kit or even beef jerky. Sure, you’ll lose out on showing your neighbors and everyone in traffic that you don’t hate soldiers. But the soul you save could be your own. Or that of someone’s mommy, daddy, sibling or child. Any Soldier (anysoldier.com) and the Letters from Home Program (lettersfromhomeprogram.org) are outstanding places to start your search for the true meaning of "support."
Peace,
Jon Anne
------------
Dear Readers,
There’s always a lot to think about in the New Year. The 2004 Darwin Awards, the year in review, and hopes and predictions for 2005 all made the short list of possible blog topics for January. But as I was driving down North Ave. the other day, I was struck for the hundredth time by a visual that has passed, for me, from curiosity to questioning to moral ire. I’m talking about the now-ubiquitous "Support Our Troops" car magnets.
My initial reaction, being as cynical as the next person, was irritation. Who would disagree with that statement? Is there a vast, secret body of troop-haters out there who need to be chastised? The Viet Nam era is over. There will be no spitting on veterans, at least in this country, ever again. Perhaps that was the only good lesson learned from that atrocity of history, however painfully. So what gives now?
I tried to keep an open mind, though. It’s hard to fault sheep for following; it’s in the nature. When we see a thing we like (especially when it’s eye-catching and heart-tugging at the same time), it’s natural to embrace it, and to want to give it the benefit of the doubt. When I first saw the yellow offenders now known, to me at least, as the Ribbon Movement, I assumed that, like the pink breast cancer awareness ribbons, they were some kind of organized fundraiser for our fighting men and women.
But soon I started seeing mutations: red, white and blue (sometimes WITH yellow), Black POW/MIA, ribbons for specific units, etc. I first saw them for sale at a big box store checkout lane. I scanned the packaging on several versions for some sigh that even a tiny portion of my $2.99 would somehow actually support our troops, but there was no such language there. My suspicions were confirmed. A quick sniff and I detected the aroma of capitalism. I decided to go online to and see if I could learn something that would help me sort it out. What I found dismayed me, if I wasn’t surprised. Evidently (everyone who already knew this will be smirking about now), there’s no limit to how low profiteers will sink to appeal to our country’s jingoistic need to show our solidarity. And no limit to our cultural myopia in regards to what constitutes "support."
On the ‘net, I found prices for a single yellow sticker or magnet ranging from free w/SASE and two first class stamps (yellowribbonamerica.com, the apparent founders of the Ribbon Movement) to $8.94 after shipping at autobarn.net, with an average price of about $2.99 plus two- to four dollars in shipping. And guess how much of that money is used to support our troops? In most cases, not one single penny.
In fairness, there are some organizations using their powers for good in regards to the Ribbon Movement. I was surprised to read that Bed, Bath and Beyond is selling them for $1.99 and giving $1 to a USO fund. Not bad. And with some deep digging, I found Brownie troops, church groups and local veterans’ organizations selling them as fundraisers to help soldiers receive Girl Scout cookies, Kevlar vests and extra toothpaste. But mostly, it appears, people are just buying them and slapping them on their cars in the same way we all hung flags on our houses after 9/11. To show "support." And to line the pockets of the carpetbaggers who never fail to capitalize on war. How lucky the culprits are to have found such willing victims as we, reflexive consumers without the presence of mind to think beyond showing others who we are by our choice of possessions.
So, my wish for the New Year is this: that we rediscover the joy of the anonymous good deed. Take that $2 or $8 and donate it directly toward body armor or laundry detergent or a personal comfort kit or even beef jerky. Sure, you’ll lose out on showing your neighbors and everyone in traffic that you don’t hate soldiers. But the soul you save could be your own. Or that of someone’s mommy, daddy, sibling or child. Any Soldier (anysoldier.com) and the Letters from Home Program (lettersfromhomeprogram.org) are outstanding places to start your search for the true meaning of "support."
Peace,
Jon Anne
