Tillman

Last year I started listening to the audio-book "Where Men Win Glory," by Jon Krakauer, about Pat Tillman.  I simply couldn't finish it because it made me sick with anger.  (But it was excellent)  Today I watched the DVD "The Tillman Story."  Again, sick and exhausted by my anger.  I wondered why it wasn't called "The Pat Tillman Story," and now I know.  It's as much about his extraordinary family as it is about him.  They are amazing people.

I'm pretty good with vocabulary.  I recognize emotional trigger words, and I discount them in favor of facts.  You have to be subtle to manipulate me with vague language.  There was very little such language in this documentary, and most of it came from politicians and others with something to hide.  Duh.  The bald, unvarnished facts of the Tillman case are appalling enough to make me queasy.  Simply put, his death was tragic in two ways.  First, it was a mistake, and second, he was a beautiful young man, in every way.  "Mistake" will have to suffice because it was certainly avoidable, and nobody wanted to kill Pat Tillman.

What I find disgusting beyond words is the politics of deceit, denial, and cover-up.  Admitting the truth wouldn't change anything.  It would merely be honorable.  A man can die for honor, while his so-called superiors can't bring themselves to suffer a little embarrassment for it.  Who are these soulless monsters we send to Washington?

Yet another argument for term limits.

WATCH THIS MOVIE!