I read on Reason Magazine's website yesterday about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman. Tillman, aged 27, was a defensive back who played for the Arizona Cardinals. He gave up his $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals and turned down a five year, $9 million offer from the St. Louis Rams to join the U.S. Army in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He perished in southern Afghanistan while with a group of Rangers who were hunting Al Qaida forces.
I have mixed emotions when I hear such news. Most people of course would bend over backwards to praise such a man for living his convictions. This is especially the case of a man such as Tillman, who did not seek acclaim for his actions. One thinks of Tillman verses say John Kerry, who went out of his way to gain attention for his opposition to Vietnam after he came back.
Like most people, I do have to admire Tillman for living his convictions. I am at least glad that he died in Afghanistan, instead of say, Iraq. At least in the case of the Afghan war, there was much more political support for overthrowing the Taliban and trying to nab Bin Laden, verses the "sideshow" of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. One also wonders if Tillman might have decided to enter politics should he have come back from service.
I also have to admire Tillman verses most of the supporters and architects of the current Middle East policy. Paul Wolfowitz pursued a Ph.D in political science at the University of Chicago during the late 1960's, rather than serve in Vietnam. Dick Cheney didn't serve either, nor did Condi Rice or Richard Perle. For that matter, only about about 30 percent of Congressmen and Senators have served in the military. Only six Representatives and one Senator have children who are currently serving in the military. Read one of my. first posts into this weblog for my thoughts about politics and irresponsibility.
To put it another way, one of my fellow employees at my company, who served 14 years in the Army, said to me once that there weren't too many patriots in this country. It was mostly lower - middle income people, people looking for direction, and those who had a family history of serving who were the ones who ended up enlisting in military service.
There is a part of me that says that Tillman should have simply taken his money, fame, and fortune, and said to hell with it. I can't help but think that he threw it all away. There may yet be a time where the Taliban forces may come back to power in Afghanistan. That is still sobering.
Moreover anything that glorifies politics glorifies political "solutions" to everything else. Ergo, I can't help but think that stories like this make it easier for people to swallow more government programs, more taxes, more regulations, more government employees, etc. After all, if someone like Tillman was willing to sacrifice his life, who am I to complain when my water bills and property taxes go up because of malfeseance? To put it another way, as my own father once said to me when we got into an argument 15 years ago about Social Security, "Damn it! Why don't you just shut up and pay up!"
The answer is: NO! I WILL NOT SHUT UP AND I ONLY PAY UP BECAUSE I HAVE A GOD DAMNED GUN POINTED AT ME! THERE ARE TOO MANY SCHMUCKS OUT THERE WHO DON'T PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION AND BECAUSE OF THIS, OUR LIBERTIES AND MONEY GET TAKEN FROM US!
Pat Tillman - may you rest in peace. Now, I've got work to do.
Posted by The Mighty Wizard at April 24, 2004 11:16 PM