Support Our Ribbons!
Apparently, while I was out of the country, a law was passed that all owners of a sports-utility-vehicle must champion a social cause by placing a color-coated, ribbon-shaped magnet/sticker on their back hatch.I am guessing that with most of these ribbons (like the pink breast cancer awareness one or the red AIDS awareness one) that the proceeds are donated to the corresponding causes. They seem to me to be a great way to raise much needed funds and spread much needed awareness.
However, the majority of the ribbons I see on the roads are not pink or red. They are yellow. I saw a car yesterday with three yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbons! That's a lot of support!...Or is it?
How is it, that with so many of these patriotic ribbons telling us all what to do, that the next logical question never seems to get asked:
How is it, that with so many of these patriotic ribbons telling us all what to do, that the next logical question never seems to get asked:
HOW exactly does one best support our troops?
Hold that thought...getting back to the proceeds:
I went searching for these ribbons on starsandstripes.com. Apparently when you buy one, an undisclosed "portion" of each sale is donated to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. The fund then provides educational scholarships to the children of soldiers. The only catch is, for a kid to be eligible for penny number one, his parent needs to die, get permanently disabled, become a POW or go MIA. Even then, the checks range from $500 to just $2,000.I don't want to demean any well-intentioned, much needed contributions, but I have to ask: Is this really the answer to the question? How much comfort can a soldier take in knowing that if he dies fighting, his kids will get their college textbooks paid for (maybe)? Does this, mixed with hanging a flag out front and saying some bed time prayers, really constitute 'support'? Or does it constitute self-deception and the easiest way to clear one's conscience?
I have another idea. Unfortunately, unlike the ribbons, it involves thinking, admitting our mistakes and taking action. My alternative type of support would involve researching which politicians/parties are actually cutting/fully funding soldiers' and veterans' benefits and related programs...
It involves accepting the reality that there were no WMDs, that Saddam was not in cahoots with Osama and that therefore, the soldiers were put in harms way under false pretenses...
It involves promising to them never to let this happen again...
It involves voting accordingly, placing their welfare as a higher priority then say...Stem Cells.
It does not involve vague, hollow gestures which carry the illusion and warm fuzzy feeling of a meaningful contribution. I hate to say it, but as I see it, these ribbons are doubling as blindfolds.
By Robert - 9/29/2005
13 Comments:
Is a blindfold really a blindfold if it's put on someone who is already blind?
I'm just guessing here, but the people that buy these ribbons probably aren't the same people care to think too deeply or do too much work about these kinds of things.
Case in point: my mother. When my brother was in Iraq she had a ribbon or two on her car. Not sure if she still does. She's not exactly very politically active, or even politically knowledgeable.
But having those ribbons made her feel better because it allowed her to meet and connect with other people who were in the same boat or were otherwise sympathetic to her situation.
And when you know that at any moment you could receive a call from the government telling you that your child is dead, you need all the help you can get to feel better-- knowing that other people support you may be all the difference in the world between going crazy with worry and being able to keep it together.
So maybe those ribbons aren't so bad after all.
I've had a related thought recently about the Red Cross. I seem to remember some sort of a scandal in the past where they weren't necessarily being honest about their contributions and pocketing alot of money. I'm not positive thats true, but I feel like I remember it. Anyway, my thought was how closely are we watching them to be sure all this money for reflief gets put to the right use and it's not lining the pockets of some sick accountant or other high up. I mean we're talking about alot of money floating around that is very hard to keep track.
It's also ironic that those SUV's with the "Support the Troops" stickers, are the people that have been supporting these regimes we are quarreling with.
Not that this is something you didn't know already. So, anytime you see a "ribbon" and an SUV, you have reason to give them the double-finger.
Funny post. and I have been meaning to bring something up, and now is the perfect time:
Most of those Ribbons
ARE MADE IN CHINA!ARE MADE IN CHINA! What a way to support the troops! Hahahaha.
Steve, I understand exactly what you’re saying and I really don’t want to say anything that might come across as offensive, but if the real reason that someone buys these ribbons is (as you mentioned) to 'feel better'/ 'meet and connect with other people who are in the same boat' / 'gain sympathy' / 'keep from going crazy' & 'being able to keep it together,' then the ribbons on their cars should read:
"Support My Sanity" or maybe "Support My Denial"
John, good point, who is keeping tabs on all that Red Cross money? Anybody know?
Chuck, what is the problem with these ribbons being made in China?
I could understand the irony if the ribbons read: "Support Our Workers," but they don’t.
Would you have a problem with a "Bring the Troops Home" sticker being made in China?
I have found that if you question those with the ribbons stuck on their vehicle, How are you supporting the troops?
The answer you get is by "sticking this sticker on my car"
These are generally those who wish that the neighbor's kid go to Iraq but OH NO! Not my Kid!
Our service persons are faithful (semper fidelis) to their Nation and we as civilians owe them this:
We will be responsible for the politicians that call the shots about the use of our military. In this case, I personally do all I can through channels to make sure that our leaders know that I dissaprove of the way that they are misusing the military (Iraq).
Also, if you wish to support out troops, communicate with them regularly, send them needed items, and moral support and be friends and helpers to the family of loved ones left behind. Please think how YOU would feel if you family member was presently in harms way!
I am informed source on this:
The Bush administration has covertly cut Veterans benefits, closed much needed and well located facilities and otherwise reneged on obligations to our Vets. All the while, these gutter - hypocrites beat the drum of patriotism.
I will stop here because this president's treatment and misuse of our Military turns my stomach
good stuff edwin.
Bob, I am not sure how you miss the connection. 1) China is an oppressive regime that needs the very liberation we claim to provide Iraq. 2) China is a major national security concern....their control over our debt and our dollar is scary and a problem. 3) Also, our continued outsourcing of jobs also jeopardizes our national security.
Continued outsourcing of jobs jeopardizes national security!?! No, it just makes some or all U.S. citizens in the affected industries unemployed. Sure, it's not a good situation for those people, but I don't see how that's a matter of national security.
well, maybe I would have been better to just make 2 points (and combine #2 and #3). It is our outsourcing of jobs and resources that has given China a SCARY amount of control over OUR nation.
Foster,
It is so important for Americans to hear this (that the Bush administration has covertly cut Veterans benefits) directly FROM Veterans and their families. Thank you so much for your comment.
Chuck,
I needed a black, collared 'polo-style' shirt for my first day of work yesterday. I went last minute to Wal-Mart and bought one for $4.75!! (The tag says it was made in El Salvador but it might just as easily have been China).
Point is: if all Americans save tons of money buying everyday items made in China, does that mean that China has a scary amount of control over us or that we have a scary amount of control over them? (Or neither?) Are we not paying THEIR wages with our purchases? Are a ton of the manufacturing facilities not owned by U.S. companies who are simple outsourcing the labor?
Please elaborate on: "SCARY control."
John/Everyone,
I received a Wall Street Journal article in my inbox from a reader who suggested it 'might make us want to remove the Red Cross icon off our page and put up one for the Salvation Army.'
The article is titled: "Along Battered Gulf, Katrina Aid Stirs Unintended Rivalry --- Salvation Army Wins Hearts, Red Cross Faces Critics; Two Different Missions." I am pasting the whole article below (since it is behind a security wall). Check it out...
HERE IS THAT WSJ ARTICLE IN FULL:
[Along Battered Gulf, Katrina Aid Stirs Unintended Rivalry --- Salvation Army Wins Hearts, Red Cross Faces Critics; Two Different Missions
By Chad Terhune
29 September 2005
The Wall Street Journal
EAST BILOXI, Miss. -- The town hall meeting last week started like a church revival, with more than 200 Katrina survivors singing "Amazing Grace" under a big red tent on a football field here.
The opening prayer asked the Lord to strengthen hands, feet and minds for the rebuilding ahead. Then city officials and residents counted their blessings, thanking the dozens of volunteers who had arrived here after the storm and the donors who had sent money and supplies. People in the crowd saved their biggest applause for the Salvation Army.
"They were the only ones here in the beginning," Eula Crowell, 57 years old, said after the meeting. She lost her house to the massive storm surge that inundated East Biloxi, where many of the city's poorest people live. For the past month, she has relied on the Salvation Army for water, hot meals, groceries and other basic goods. The group also gave her $50.
The Salvation Army has the biggest presence among the nonprofit groups and churches helping out at East Biloxi's Yankie Stadium, the hub of local relief efforts. Volunteers live in tents on the football field -- "Camp Bayou," as some call it. In the parking lot, volunteers unload pallets of water, apple juice, canned goods and diapers. Last week, the Salvation Army began passing out boxes of cleaning supplies.
The American Red Cross was mentioned at the meeting too, but in a different way. "We want to know where the money is," Ms. Crowell said when she cornered a Red Cross official who attended the gathering. "All these people across America are giving money over the TV. I would tell them to put it back in their pocket."
Across the hurricane disaster zone, stretching from Alabama to Texas, an unexpected and unintended rivalry has developed between the two nonprofit organizations most closely associated with the aftermath of calamity. Here in some of the poorest parts of Mississippi and much of the Gulf Coast, the Salvation Army is drawing praise for its swift arrival in the most distressed areas and clearly winning the hearts of desperate residents. To some people here, the Red Cross, under growing criticism for letting bureaucratic hurdles slow down aid in the disaster area, suffers by comparison.
The Salvation Army is helped by its military-style structure, which is designed for rapid mobilization and which puts a premium on training people in advance to deal with disasters. It can draw on more than 65,000 employees in the U.S., nearly double the paid staff of the Red Cross.
The Salvation Army's daily work in permanent shelters with the homeless and poor and with people trying to put their lives back together after an apartment fire or years of alcohol and drug abuse helps too. The organization's focus on alleviating human suffering in the name of Jesus Christ resonates in this section of the Bible Belt.
The Red Cross, the world's dominant relief group, is naturally a lightning rod for criticism. Among aid groups, it stands out for its international reach, breadth of services and fund-raising prowess. The organization has raised nearly $1 billion in donations since Katrina hit, representing about seven of every 10 dollars given for hurricane relief, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The Red Cross has been more ambitious than any other organization in the Katrina aftermath, dispatching 163,000 staff and volunteers to shelters and aid centers. Many are volunteers working in a disaster for the first time and armed with only a few hours of training. Several volunteers at the Baton Rouge River Center, one of the largest Red Cross shelters, quit over the disorganization they saw there. Others were sent home early because they couldn't handle the work emotionally, according to volunteers there.
Charlotte McGee of Harvey, La., has slept in the Baton Rouge River Center auditorium for three weeks along with four daughters and four grandchildren. "Everyone in here I talk to is complaining about the same things. These volunteers just treat us like crap," Ms. McGee said. "We don't want to be here, either, but if you didn't volunteer for the right reasons, then go back home."
Only people living at the Baton Rouge shelter could apply for emergency financial aid there. Volunteers say that rule frustrated many other storm victims who walked in seeking help and got a flier instead urging them to keep calling a busy toll-free number. The Red Cross pays out $360 for a single person to $1,565 for a family of five or more.
The Red Cross acknowledges that its phone lines have been overwhelmed. It is expanding its phone bank operations, hoping to process up to 40,000 financial-aid claims per day.
A spokeswoman for the Red Cross says the disaster is so massive that complaints and glitches are inevitable. And with more than 100,000 volunteers in the field, some inevitably won't be up to the job. "We were challenged like never before" by Katrina, said Devorah Goldburg, spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Washington. "I think we rose to the challenge. We know we are not perfect. We are asking people to be patient with us."
Lisa Burbridge, an East Biloxi resident whose home was flooded, said she had no luck over the phone so she waited more than five hours at a Red Cross financial-assistance center on Saturday, Sept. 17. But it never opened that day. Late that evening, a police officer got on a bullhorn and told people waiting to go home empty-handed. "There is no organization from the Red Cross," said Ms. Burbridge. She has depended on groceries and other donated goods from the Salvation Army for the past month. "Thank God for them."
Both the Salvation Army and the Red Cross say they don't see themselves in competition and that the need for hurricane relief far surpasses the capability of any one organization. Salvation Army officials declined to comment on the Red Cross at all. Ms. Goldburg of the Red Cross said: "We think it's great the Salvation Army is out there. . . . Our missions are a little bit different."
No one doubts that the Red Cross has touched many lives for the good in recent weeks. This past weekend, the organization housed 120,000 people in nearly 500 shelters across the country, split about evenly between people who evacuated for Katrina and Rita. The Red Cross is housing another 300,000 in hotels and has given 530,000 families some form of financial assistance.
The Salvation Army, founded in 1865 in London and best known for its bell-ringing santas soliciting donations to red kettles outside stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas, is both an evangelical Christian church and a major relief agency. It adopted a quasimilitary command structure in 1878, and today it still uses uniforms and military ranks for its 3,700 "officers," who are also ordained ministers. It has an additional 62,000 employees at its 9,000 Salvation Army centers around the country, which usually hold weekly worship services.
Outside management experts have credited the Salvation Army with operating efficiently on a tight budget. That reputation has served it well as it took on a larger and larger role in disaster response since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Northridge, Calif., earthquake two years later. Now that immediate assistance has been given, Salvation Army employees are beginning to work with residents on their long-term needs for housing, furniture, employment and help with utility bills and other financial issues.
"We do this extremely well because we are already there 365 days a year serving the poorest of the poor in these communities," said Maj. George Hood, national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army. "We are serving many of the same clients, but now they don't have homes."
The Salvation Army estimates it has helped about 500,000 storm victims in the past month by serving 4.3 million meals and handing out groceries, store vouchers, mops and buckets and other essential goods. It has rotated a team of about 12,000 employees and 28,000 volunteers into the field on two-week stints, drawing on donations of $185 million so far.
In East Biloxi, where many of the African-American, Hispanic and Vietnamese families had no cars or lost them in the storm, Ms. Crowell said she had no transportation to reach the closest Red Cross financial-aid center about 10 miles away. Many of the roads remain impassable, and traffic is painfully slow.
Brian Fern, an American Red Cross official on assignment from Muncie, Ind., looked Ms. Crowell in the eye after the town hall meeting and said, "I understand ma'am. We are stretched. We are stretched. We will have a site in East Biloxi soon. But I don't know where yet."
Frustrated that the Red Cross hadn't shown up, local math teacher Susan Turner took matters into her own hands. She became a Red Cross volunteer and began taking down people's information for cash payments under a small white tent in East Biloxi. "The Red Cross didn't do anything for us. They know they are in trouble just like FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency]," Ms. Turner said.
Late last week, nearly 100 people waited on folding chairs for their turn to apply for cash grants. Ms. Turner drives the paperwork each afternoon to the closest Red Cross center and retrieves the checks about two days later. She began passing out some of the first checks over the weekend.
Daniel Jackson, 59, was grateful Ms. Turner was there to fill out his application. He was set to receive $965. "We lost everything we got," said Mr. Jackson. His car was destroyed by the flooding. He says he needs money to pay his bills and to buy clothes for his 16-year-old daughter and himself. His wife is in a Biloxi hospital with lung cancer.
The Red Cross says it has struggled to have a presence in some of the hardest-hit areas because there are few buildings left standing with adequate space and parking for the large number of storm victims expected to show up. That was the challenge in East Biloxi.
"We are not in every neighborhood we need to be. We are in every neighborhood we can be," said Laura Howe, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Mississippi.
This week, a month after Katrina flattened most of East Biloxi, the Red Cross hoped to finally open a financial-aid center here. But the opening has been delayed.]
I don't think the outsourcing is why China is a threat to our national security. You are much more on track with how much U.S.-issued debt the Chinese own. And the Saudis. And many other countries. How else do you think we have been financing all of these deficits over the years? The money has to come from SOMEWHERE.
On a lighter ribbon note...
http://www.supportourribbons.com/maker_show.php?id=36853
http://www.supportourribbons.com/maker_show.php?id=36854
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