Those Who Have Fallen

There are matters which transcend politics; there are issues that go beyond the importance of party allegiance and instead crackle within one's spirit with moral thunder and righteousness.

HR 2642 transcends the party lines and delves directly into the obligation we have to our veterans. The bill would guarantee four years in a college institution for veterans who have served at least three years in the military. This amendment to the GI Bill is going to be very expensive; billions more than likely, and would be funded by a Patriot Tax on those who earn more than five hundred thousand dollars a year or a couple that earns at least a million a year.

Republicans are against tax increases as am I; in the middle of possible rescession, taxes are not the answer. Just ask the Hoover Administration. What should be remembered however, is how unfairly the burden of the war has been spread out, or how much it has not been spread out amongst the populace. President Bush asked Americans to revitalize the economy and go shopping, not to support the troops through real sacrifice. As my liberal professor noted, this is the first war we've waged that has not had any tax increases to fund it. If we were going to fund anything, college education for veterans is a worthy cause.

I sent a e-mail to my Senator, Tom Cornyn about this. I had seen him speak at the Republican Senatorial Convention along with Florence Shapiro. They talked about how critical is was for us to go door-to-door, to get out the vote lest our party lose it's majority. In my e-mail, I noted that speech of his as well as my inability to do it because of my college and work schedule and urged him to vote for the amendment.

I've heard the arguments against it's passage; it's expensive, the bill that it is being sponsored withinn is loaded with congressional pork, and the three-year minimum for the college benefits would cause an exodus of soldiers to occur. The expense on some of the more financially stable people in our nation seems to me a moot point. I saw the congressional debate on C-Span and while Representatie Obey, the most prominent speaker of the amendment in the House which was sponsored by possible Democratic Vice Presidential pick Senator Jim Webb, did speak over the Represenative who had accused the amendment of being filled with pork, I feel like I would have heard more about that from Republicans had it been a major problem. More importantly, Republicans lost the moral high ground about earmarks and pork and fiscal responsibility when they began shoving their own horde of earmarks through Congress.

Finally, I was trying to find a way to defend McCain's position through perhaps the most often noted argument; the three-year minimum. The problem is, when I consider that's three years of serving your country, of three years getting shot at, of three years that's spent serving your duty which so many, including myself, have not yet fulfilled I am somewhat ashamed. My father went to Iraq for six months and if he wanted to go to college he should have been able to do so even at his age.

I'm paying my way through college. I'm fighting to not go too far in debt. It's stressful and it's challenging and it's effectively killed my social life. I no longer have weekends spent anywhere but at the movie theater as an assistant manager. You know what though? Veterans like my mother and father go through much more trying times and come back having to go through what I go through despite the debt they've paid to their country. That's not fair.

Our veterans deserve better.