Credit: Getty Images.
Not to sound like a scold, but shame on you, America.
Shame on you if you reflexively thank people for their military service, but joined in the partisan feeding frenzy over one or the other of the vice presidential candidates' service records. That goes for liking, loving, sharing or otherwise giving your approval to entirely false claims about them on social media.
As far as anyone knows, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance served honorably and left their respective branches on honorable terms.
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Which, I fully acknowledge, is more than I did. Like many children of the '60s, I was soured on military service by a misguided war and by the “love it or leave it,” in-your-face jingoism of the anti-anti-war crowd.
My views have moderated since I was a teenager. I acknowledge the need for strong defense and recognize that some wars qualify as just causes. I believe diplomacy and foreign aid and cultural exchanges are smarter investments than our excessive military spending. I have enormous admiration for those who sign up knowing they may have to put their lives on the line for their country someday. And for those who did so.
So while I get the politics of it, I bristle at Republicans somehow trying to turn Walz’s 24 years in the National Guard into a liability........