The truth is hard to swallow, sometimes.  With the way our economy has been gutted, the military is sometimes the only choice for youth.  They need to know the game to know how they are being played.  No matter how you sell it - and it continues to be sold to us - this war machine is killing us all.  Thank you Mr. Fish for your apropos and wonderful imagery.

Unfortunately, this cartoon does indeed ring true.

I was at a ball game and one group grade school kids sang “God Bless America” and another sang the national anthem.  Everyone stood with their hand over their hearts.  That’s what passes for patriotism in this country today.

There is a small core group of people that supports the troops with all sincerity.  Mostly they are former vets, decent Americans, and parents and spouses of active service men and women.  If it were otherwise, do you honestly think we would still be in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
Here’s a test.  Reinstate the draft and see how much longer those wars continue.  With the prospect of their children, spouses, brothers or sisters, or themselves coming home maimed (physically or mentally) or dead – I would suspect not long, yet because most of the people singing in the stands have no skin in the game they let the wars grind on without comment. 
Until then patriots are indeed suckers in some people’s eyes.  “Why it’s all volunteer . . . right.”  Shame on them.  If they were patriots they would help get us out of the wars that have drifted so far from the original purpose and objectives they are unrecognizable.