There is a reason that I personally did not go into the service (bad back, allergy to Khaki, and panty fetish aside), and the reason is because I question everything! It takes me fifteen minutes to choose a brand of toothpaste. If somebody tells me something I automatically doubt them. Could you imagine me as a soldier? I would argue about every order that I received. I would suck!
However, I do have a deep and residing respect for the type of person that responds without question to orders that place his life in danger. He trusts his commanders to know what they are doing and responds accordingly. But sometimes I believe a good soldier needs to stop and think. He needs to consider that the orders he is being given might not be right. And a good soldier might need to refuse those orders.
So I salute Sgt. Kevin Benderman, for being a good soldier.
I am award-winning journalist with a project, Ruminations on America (www.ruminationsonamerica.blogspot.com). I have called for essays from coast to coast on true core values and the current state of the union and I would like to invite you and your readers to participate. The last few essays might interest you greatly as well (including the essay Camilo Mejia wrote for Iraq Veterans Against the War about Sergeant Benderman and an essay from a Veterans for Peace member who rode to Crawford with Cindy Sheehan).
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