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Remarks from the Other One Percent
I served one measly four year hitch and that was chairborne.
Enlisting at 17 and putting in a volunteer statement for Vietnam at 18 did not get me shot at, and I claim privilege to publish these opinions as a citizen, not as part of the other one percent, the few who serve active duty in the time of all-volunteer armed forces.
This privilege attached to U.S. citizenship explains in part why I joined that one percent in spite of my dual citizenship in the Cherokee Nation, which has an unfortunate history with the United States. I do not claim that my service entitles me to look down on others.
Bill Clinton did not pull a hitch, but I’m not offended because he opposed the war and ought not to have gone if he could avoid it.
Bill Clinton was never ugly to veterans.
George Bush the Younger served in the Weekend Warriors at a time when they did not deploy except for domestic emergencies and the Weekend Warriors were draft dodging for the wealthy. I was offended because Bush supported the war and so should have helped fight it. Besides, I was always bent out of shape about how those National Guard slots were doled out to the wealthy and the well-connected.
