You may have already seen this.... this is a letter from someone who is a WW2 veteran... a man who (according to the person to whom he dictated the letter) "Doesn't have a political bone in his body." It sounds rather political to me, and since it cam through my email, I decided to parse the letter to get a better view of what Mr. Estes is all about.
My remarks will be in bold print.
Preface
This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii
for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes
all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body,
he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now.
He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president.
Dear President Obama,
My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert. (Not really sure about that last point, as you are about to see)
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.
One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.
(Which means he is about to say stupid things, and that you have to excuse them because he is old)
So here goes.
I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.
(Supposition unsupported by facts)
I can't figure out what country you are the president of.
(Because I am old and historically ignorant)
You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: " We're no longer a Christian nation" (we aren't, and we never were) " America is arrogant" (we can be)- Your wife even announced to the world,"America is mean-spirited. " (if you don't believe that we can be means-spirited, you haven't been watching the Teabaggers at work, have you?) Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.
(23 generations? Mr. Estes needs to do a better job with his math skills. In any event, suggesting that our nations wars have been about liberation is so much bullshit. Which ones, sir? The War of 1812?, The Spanish American war?, the first world war, or the second? Were those wars about Liberty? Liberty for whom? Maybe he meant the Vietnam war. Iraq? That was about Liberty? Again, I ask... for whom?)
I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, (why? because they aren't you? or is it because they look different than you?) nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, (exactly how should this gratitude be displayed?) for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House. (Dude, were you senile during the last administration? Talk about shamelessness)
After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals."
(Totally out of context. Everything anyone has said since 9/11 can be considered "after 9/11")
Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? (farmers and shopkeepers? Dude, the War of independence was fought mostly by poor irish and scottish immigrants, transported prisoners, free blacks, and slaves that served so that their masters could go on making money without risking their own skins) Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War?(the civil war had nothing to do with the ideals of liberating slaves. It was all about smashing the traitorous, seditious rebels back into the Union. That abolition of slavery was just a weapon) I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom. (OK, this part about WW2 was alright until you got to the "because we stand for freedom" part. WW2 was a war of national survival. You probably didn't know that, Mr. Estes, but there it is)
I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected. (Right, the majority of the electorate, remember that. It was YOUR generation, Mr. Estes that fought hardest against the ideal of equality. You enlisted in the Navy in 1934 and the services were segregated throughout most of your 23 years of service. You lived a large part of your life in a time where your generation resorted to terrorism to ensure that people who served and fought in the same war that you did, didn't have this "Liberty" "Freedom" and "Equality of which you speak")
Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man. Shape up and start acting like an American. (meaning acting like an old, damn near dead white man) If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, (doing tough, unpopular things like trying to ensure that everyone, not just the wealthy, employed or or old has decent access to medical care IS leading) apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.(Did this man notice the deep familial ties of the Bush family to the Saudi Kings? If I remember correctly, 16 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis)
And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. (I suppose Mr. Obama was thinking like a leader, so that mobs wouldn't form and become violent towards Americans who are followers of Islam. You know those Muslims who seek liberty, equality, and freedom, that you mentioned before. Oh. Wait, you don't think Muslims are real Americans, either, do you?) You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? (but he wasn't jumping to conclusions, the cop in the incident did act stupidly) You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid (I'm a policeman, I know better than President Obama that cops can be stupid. I see it every day) but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics (who said anything about fanatics?) by calling them what they are, terrorists.(not all fanatics are terrorists... given the fanatical tone of your letter, one would, using your own logic, have to call YOU a terrorist.)
One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life (no American has fought to protect this country since 1945. ALL of our combat deaths since then have been about American "interests". Those two things are not the same.) , but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. (son? really?) Do your job. (he is) When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. (he is giving him 35,000... if that isn't enough, than McChrystal should be fired for incompetence) But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. (define win) The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of. (all wars are about politics... you would think that you would have learned that in all of your years)
You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president. (True, but the challenges that you fail to refer to may not be the ones that really are the greatest)
You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. (really? what exactly will restore our greatness? Personally, I believe that this is a great nation, despite our woes... I guess you don't) That's not our greatest threat. (well muslim terrorists sure as hell aren't) Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. (exactly how would you describe the American heart and soul?)
And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.
(the enemy? final battle? WTF are you talking about, old dude?)
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes
Mr. Estes, bless your heart... you have proved several points with your letter: Being old, fighting in a war, and having a lifetime of service, doesn't make a man any smarter than the next ignorant dope.













