The noble instinct of Pat Tillman

I was reading about the very sad case of Pat Tillman. We were blessed to have had such a strong idealistic patriot willing to run into harm's way when his country was attacked. Do we deserve such loyalty and bravery? I don't know.  
I do know that his government didn't.
War after war, fat, f4, draft dodging, bureaucrats pander to and exploit that noble instinct and send wave after wave of young people to their deaths. We were attacked, Tillman answered the alarm, and was promptly killed by the very same people who sounded that alarm. That's the sad part. 
War is rarely just. People die by accident or friendly fire. No glory. Just loss. 
But then his government really let him down. 
They tried to cover it up.
The training is so bad that the gulf war death rate from friendly fire is 52%...FIFTY TWO PERCENT.
Accident? No. More like Casino odds and Death holding the house advantage. Only 48% of the bullets are coming from in front of you so maybe turn around if you want a better chance of survival. Now it gets sadder. 
The government sent a democrat and republican to Tillman's memorial service. And they presumed to comfort his family with the promise of a heavenly home for Pat and assurances that we will all see him in the sweet by and by. 
Is this variation on 72 virgins supposed to absolve the government's culpability in this crime? 
"See he's not dead. He's playing Pinochle with grandpa."
To his great credit Pat's brother Richard thanked them for their well intentioned words and said, "Pat wasn't religious he's just fucking dead."   What balls. I hear him loud and clear.


So what comfort is there to be found if not in heaven?


By making sure this never happens again. His family needs the truth. His family should want for nothing and see all those responsible, all the way up to the highest level, man up like Pat and take the blame. 


Finally, Pat Tillman will live on in the hearts and minds of his family, friends, and a world left diminished by not only his premature death but also the loss of that noble instinct to do the right thing.
An instinct that his government so mindlessly and criminally abused.




See Richard Tillman on Bill Maher