Dear Laura:
Last week, you did an interview with Ann Curry, and you announced on the Today show that:
...believe me, no suffers more than their president and I do when we watch this. And certainly the commander-in-chief who has asked our military to go into harm's way.
A week later, I am still stunned and angry that you were stupid enough to say something like this to a nationwide audience which probably included hundreds of thousands of military members and their families. An audience that I, a military spouse, was a part of. I am angry that your handlers allowed you to say this on national TV. I’m insulted and offended that you think you can even categorize yourself as one who suffers because of this.
Get down off the cross lady, somebody else needs the wood...
Laura Bush, are you high? WTF are you smoking? Because you need to share it with those of us who really are suffering as a result of, (what could politely only be called) your husband’s poor decision making "skills." Do you really, truly, in that barren wasteland between your ears, believe you suffer more than those of us who have family there right now? Do you really think you suffer more than those who have lost a husband, father, mother, wife, daughter, son, or other loved one over there?
Are you kidding me?
I just want to know if you, Laura, have ever lost even one hour of sleep worrying about a loved one "over there?" Have you ever stayed up through the night because you couldn’t sleep from all the worry? Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat from nightmares? Have you went days without being able to eat because the worry makes you nauseous? Have you paced the floors of your house because you can’t stand not hearing from your loved one and you know that they are in danger? Have you held the hand of a family member at a military hospital where their wounded loved one was just flown in?
Have you ever stayed on a computer all night hoping that your husband will log in and instant message you that he's okay? Do you honestly think you’re suffering more than the troops who are right in the middle of a civil war? Trust me, you’re not suffering even a nanosecond more than they are.
How much did you suffer, Laura, when the extensions were announced two weeks ago? Did you cry? Did you sleep through the night? Were you able to eat? Did your heart break? Did you get to break the news to your deployed spouse that he had to stay another three months because his command is so inept that he heard the news from his wife first?
How many emails from your deployed spouse do you get a day? Do you ever open an email that says "Hey, our FOB is under attack, we got hit by a VIED and there is gunfire, I just want you to know I’m still alive and okay, I’ll write more later."??? Worrying about stuff like that IS suffering. Indescribable emotional pain and torture.
Suffering is not watching a broadcast and shutting off the TV when you don’t like what you’re seeing. I don’t think you even have the capacity to understand the word "Suffer" as it relates to war and deployments.
And no matter what you think, Laura, you will probably never, ever, suffer as much as the families of the 3,355 servicemembers killed thus far. You cannot even fathom the level of suffering the families, friends, and loved ones of Cole Spencer, Glenn Hicks, Jay-D H. Ornsby-Adkins, and Norman Tollett are being subjected to right this minute.
Laura Bush, go play in your rose garden, and please stop insulting the intelligence and very real suffering of military families by thinking you are one of us. You are not even in the same league as we are.
Not even close.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. This series is maintained by i dunno, with the help of Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz and myself.
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