OT - Tribute to a hero

[taterbill]

Originally posted by Renegade 13:
...A hero to me is someone who performs an action or deed which goes way beyond what is expected of him, and way beyond what the vast majority of the population would do...

Jumping into this thread against my better judgement...

Let's see, Tillman turned down a huge offer from St. Louis in 2001 to stay with the Arizona Cardinals, because they were the team that beleived in him when everyone else said he was too small to be an NFL linebacker. Does that go "way beyond what is expected of him"?

A year later, he walked away from a three-year, $3.6 million offer from Arizona to join the Army. Is that "what the vast majority of the population would do"?

We can't all be Joan d'Arc or Mahatma Ghandi. We can only do the best with where circumstances have put us.

Pat Tillman consistently made choices that demonstrated his desire to do what he beleived to be honorable and right, despite the personal cost. Did he choose to die? Of course not. But he chose to place himself in a dangerous situation to serve his country. Despite my political views, I respect his actions immensely.

Hero? Absolutely.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Every day I wake up wondering if I will get “the call”.
Every waking moment I live in fear that someone in a uniform will knock on my door.
Every night I go to bed shacking from terror fighting back the tears that this could be “the night”.

What would I tell my kids? How would I face the rest of my life alone?

He was a hero, they are all heroes.

It is not the “definition” that makes them heroes; it is the “choices” they made.

[Grandpa Kim]

From Taterbill:

But he chose to place himself in a dangerous situation to serve his country. ...

Hero? Absolutely.

On that basis, every single person joining the military should be considered a hero. Shoot, I should be considered a hero for braving Deerfoot Trail during rush hour. I could be killed! But I choose to do so to feed my family. I made a choice to go into danger. Am I a hero? I think not.

[rextorres]

It's tragic that Tilman had to be Martyred for a cause he believed in. His sacrifice highlights to me the need for a draft, with no deferments, so that we all have an immediate personal stake in where our soldiers are sent.

Anywway we all participate in "defending our way of life" because we pay taxes. Nearly 50% of our tax dollars goes to funding the military and veterans.

[ April 24, 2004, 19:51: Message edited by: rextorres ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Hero is very subjective. Tillman sounds like a hero to me and I suspect a lot of soldier's would.

[taterbill]

Originally posted by rextorres:
Nearly 50% of our tax dollars goes to funding the military and veterans.

Actually, in 2003, which is obviously the most recent year for which concrete numbers are available, total defense and veteran affairs spending was approximately 18.15% of the federal budget.

Defense: $356.3B
Veterans Affairs: $26.4B
Total Federal Outlays: $2158.0B

Source:
Government Printing Office web site:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy05/browse.html

Bill

[rextorres]

Bill,

You made a mistake in your calculations. You included social security and medicare spending which is money people are merely getting back. I believe tax for this should not be used for anything else.

Social Security/Medicare Spending ~ $1.2B (Social Security Tax is collected for this)

Discretionary Spending ~ $800M - Defense Spending ~ $400M (Income Tax is collected for this)

So i'll clarify - 50% of our income tax goes to defense spending.

Anyway - my original point still stands - we all participate to "protect our way of life" which is true whether the portion of the taxes we pay to protect it is ~20% or ~50%.

[ April 24, 2004, 22:23: Message edited by: rextorres ]