Saw a sign on a pickup truck this afternoon that really pissed me off.

[Aristus]

White pick-up truck. Pasted to the cab's rear window was a sign composed of those stick-on mailbox letters. It read:

"Hippies, next time you want to protest, thank a veteran for giving you the right to."

I mean, that really fucking pissed me off. And not because I'm a hippie. I'm not. (BTW, why is it always hippies these shitheads are railing about? Hippies as a social movement are SO last century!) It's because I'm a veteran. And I've done my share of protesting. And I don't much like the idea that if I want to exercise any or all of my Constitutionally protected rights, I have to find some veteran and see if its okay with him first. To say nothing of the fact that he claims to speak for all veterans in his insistence on being thanked. That's really embarrassing. Like I said: I'm a veteran. but I don't go around getting in people's faces and saying: "I'M A VETERAN! THANK ME! I'M A VETERAN! YOU'RE WELCOME!"

Sometimes when the issue of my veteran status comes up among strangers, someone will invariably say to me: "Thank you for your service." That's really nice; but I'm ashamed to say that sometimes it irritates me. Anyone saying that undoubtedly means well, but it seems to have been reduced by a sense of obligation to the level of a salutation or a polite nothing. Like "Have a nice day." Sometimes I wish that I could, without being considered impolite, say to the person in question: "If you want to thank me, simply live your life the way you want to, and acknowledge the rights of others to do the same."

Thank you for allowing me to rant. :rant:

While I'm on the subject: I'm a veteran. Thank you for allowing me to serve my country. Thank you for allowing me to travel to interesting parts of the world on your dime. Thank you for paying for my durable uniforms and excellent equipment. Thank you for purchasing the really cool tanks that I got to crew for four years. Thank you for funding the training that gave me discipline and a sense of mission. Thank you for the opportunities to work with admirable and highly capable people. Thank you. B-) :patriot: