The Slander of a Hero
We hear the cliché, “Some gave all, all gave some.” A cliché' to some, that is. To others, the saying underlines a truth seared into the soul. We hear the horror stories of troops that came home from a hellish Vietnam only to be greeted by the half-witted narcissistic jeers of the unkempt and the unhinged. Coddled flower children and assorted blooming idiots whose only concept of combat was a sit-in at the dean's office had the stupid audacity to spit on men who lost friends and body parts in a far away land and call them “baby killers.”
Today, the yellow ribbon magnets are starting to fade even as the people who willingly stand between us and the 7th century rejects who plot our murder continue their mission. But what greets them upon their return home? If the story of Purple Heart recipient Anthony Maschek is any indication, the answer is unsettling.
In February 2008, while serving his country in northern Iraq, then Staff Sergeant Maschek was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division. Engaged in a fierce firefight, Maschek was shot 11 times, receiving severe wounds to his chest, abdomen, and breaking both legs and arms. After a grueling but successful two-year recovery at Walter Reed, the Idaho native is currently pursuing his dreams at Columbia University which, unsurprisingly, is where the story takes an ugly turn.
Maschek attended a university town hall meeting on the topic of whether or not to continue Columbia's 42 year-old military ban on campus. Exhibiting the strength of character that was exemplified by his service to the country, Maschek addressed the students, saying, “It doesn't matter how you feel about the war. It doesn't matter how you feel about fighting. There are bad men out there plotting to kill you.” Some students yelled “Racist.” Others openly laughed and jeered the man who gave so much to defend their lives and their freedom. What is the level of moral depravity that leads to such vile behavior? Are the attacks of 9/11 so distant a memory that the people who willingly give their lives to protect us from another attack do not deserve at least a modicum of civility? Exactly what in the deuce has become of the much vaunted free and civil exchange of ideas that is ostensibly the hallmark of the university?
And since I'm on a rant, I might as well open both barrels. There is nothing, and I mean positively nothing lower in my estimation than the vile, semi-literate saphead who slanders and jeers one who has with his very blood secured the existence and liberty of his countrymen. Such self-serving nescience deserves a spotlight and tons of derision so that all around will come to know and understand the cowardice, the intellectual and moral laziness, the historical ignorance, and the unadulterated mental crapulence that passes for academic analysis and discussion. These people should be chained to a chair until they have met and heard the stories of every living Purple Heart recipient and then perhaps deported to Iran for a first-person perspective of what life would be without the US military defending their sorry hides.
Meanwhile, Anthony Maschek continues his study of economics at Columbia. He has a Facebook page, and a page on Linkedin.com. He has done a world of good for his country, and paid a high price. A hero and a role model, we need to celebrate men like him, and thank God above for a country still capable of producing such people.
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Comments :
Aug '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
So Columbia is where Khalid Tariq Al-Mansour sent Obama to study what ?
Edited on Feb 20, 2011 at 5:43pmSounds like a pit, but then so many universities in America have been destroyed in the same way. Your guy is a perfect example of pearls before swine. They wouldn't recognize a hero. They can't court women properly, and they have no manners. They are the lost generation, the only thing they'll be good for is .......?
And from my generation, which I always considered as severely challenged - Keep on truckin !
I think this new generation's motto is "whatever ".
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Thanks for saying this, Mr. Carter. Maschek is a unsung hero in a society who appreciates the "famous" instead. Appalling. I spent time at Walter Reed last fall and was overwhelmed to see so many who's testament to our freedom was one or more missing limbs-- and these were just the wounds I could see. I wanted to kneel and give thanks to each of them and gladly would have if I knew it would be some comfort instead of an embarrassment to them.
Sep '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Dave, what a fine young man, and what a great tribute. There's a member post by JC Casteel that I'd like to see juxtaposed with yours and have them pinned to the top of the main feed on President's day. Thank you for this tribute to him and for your service to us.
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Thanks Dave- sad commentary on our society. And I agree with your solution. Also agree with pseudodionysius -pin to Main
Sep '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
flownover has it exactly right: pearls before swine indeed.
Dec '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Of course Columbia was the place that respectfully welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to students in 2007. It's obvious which side the elites are on.
Nov '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
I was a student at Columbia until I graduated in 2009. I was also briefly affiliated with the Army ROTC program based out of Fordham University where we Columbia cadets (all five of us) had to go to attend military classes. In late 2008 there was a similar town hall meeting where a panel of three "experts" (only one of which seemed to know anything about the history of the program at Columbia, or anything at all for that matter) laid out the case for the university's opposition to the ROTC presence on campus. I distinctly recall my friend and fellow cadet (previously an enlisted Ranger medic) asking whether they would still oppose ROTC once Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed. They said they would withdraw their opposition, but it now appears that they have not.
Edited on Feb 20, 2011 at 10:10pmMay '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
I live and breathe around liberals in New York, including many from academia, and am happy to say that I get along extremely well with all of them and they are all aware of my military membership.
There are some arguments not worth having with certain people and I think this is one of them. Maschek is not going to convince any of his vocal opponents. They've all read Noam Chomsky and Edward Said and, therefore, they've been marinated in a narrative asserting that the threat of Islamic fascism has been overestimated and that it finds its cause in U.S. foreign policy. Its seductively simple to them: the U.S. military is an instrument of colonialism, imperialism, and exploitation. This is a losing endeavor.
Edited on Feb 20, 2011 at 6:36pmJul '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
I guess Kipling was wrong - some people still hate Tommy even when the troopship's on the tide.
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Michael Labeit: I live and breathe around liberals in New York, including many from academia, and am happy to say that I get along extremely well with all of them and they are all aware of my military membership.
There are some arguments not worth having with certain people and I think this is one of them. Maschek is not going to convince any of his vocal opponents. They've all read Noam Chomsky and Edward Said and, therefore, they've been marinated in a narrative asserting that the threat of Islamic fascism has been overestimated and that it finds its cause in U.S. foreign policy. Its seductively simple to them: the U.S. military is an instrument of colonialism, imperialism, and exploitation. This is a losing endeavor. · Feb 20 at 6:25pm
Edited on Feb 20 at 06:36 pm
The argument's worth in a particular venue doesn't relieve the participants of an obligation to civility, or lessen the repugnance of a lack thereof.
Oct '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Being seriously grey and having been about when both the draft and Nam were very real things for everyday youth in this country... Would darn near like to see the draft reinstated, with no educational exemptions. Seperate the wheat from the chaff in the process. Those in the ivory towers of our educational system would not be excluded.
Grumpy rant, sorry bout that, Something needs to change...
Dec '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
There is a very special corner in a very hot place reserved for that particular pile of disrespectful human debris.
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Dave Carter
Michael Labeit: I live and breathe around liberals in New York, including many from academia, and am happy to say that I get along extremely well with all of them and they are all aware of my military membership.
There are some arguments not worth having with certain people and I think this is one of them. Maschek is not going to convince any of his vocal opponents. They've all read Noam Chomsky and Edward Said and, therefore, they've been marinated in a narrative asserting that the threat of Islamic fascism has been overestimated and that it finds its cause in U.S. foreign policy. Its seductively simple to them: the U.S. military is an instrument of colonialism, imperialism, and exploitation. This is a losing endeavor.
The argument's worth in a particular venue doesn't relieve the participants of an obligation to civility, or lessen the repugnance of a lack thereof.
The venue (a townhall meeting) is awful but an in-print debate would have been better.
Dec '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Dave, we're children of a God who loves us far more than we could ever deserve. I'm sorry you and your fellow soldiers have to experience the pain of being disrespected by people for whom you have sacrificed so much. Even those of us who do respect you often fail to respect the gifts which you swore to protect. But I take comfort in the fact that this pain which you share with our Savior can bring you closer to Him.
To treat others with more respect and love than one receives in return is a very admirable quality.
Oct '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Foxman · Feb 20 at 7:29pm
I'm not so sure. It was my experience in Viet Nam that most of the draftees were stand up guys; they pulled their load with competence, grace and good cheer. Let not the myths of the mainstream media mislead you. Not all the druggies were draftees, nor were all the draftees druggies.
By the end of the '60s, most young men had watched the rejection of the military returning from Viet Nam for years and yet when their names were called, they kissed their loved ones goodbye and went to serve with honor.
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Matthew Osborn
Foxman ·
I'm not so sure. It was my experience in Viet Nam that most of the draftees were stand up guys; they pulled their load with competence, grace and good cheer. Let not the myths of the mainstream media mislead you. Not all the druggies were draftees, nor were all the draftees druggies.
By the end of the '60s, most young men had watched the rejection of the military returning from Viet Nam for years and yet when their names were called, they kissed their loved ones goodbye and went to serve with honor.
Not all volunteers object to the draft exclusively on effectiveness grounds. I've told colleagues of mine that the draft would contradict that which makes the nation worthy of defense.
Jun '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Foxman · Feb 20 at 7:29pm
Yessir.
Oct '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
Michael Labeit
Matthew Osborn
Foxman ·
I'm not so sure. It was my experience in Viet Nam that most of the draftees were stand up guys; they pulled their load with competence, grace and good cheer. Let not the myths of the mainstream media mislead you. Not all the druggies were draftees, nor were all the draftees druggies.
By the end of the '60s, most young men had watched the rejection of the military returning from Viet Nam for years and yet when their names were called, they kissed their loved ones goodbye and went to serve with honor.
Not all volunteers object to the draft exclusively on effectiveness grounds. I've told colleagues of mine that the draft would contradict that which makes the nation worthy of defense. · Feb 20 at 7:59pm
The founding fathers were drafted. It appears as if Chris Christy has received his notice as well.
May '10
Re: The Slander of a Hero
We are a nation of decadent narcissists, living on the wealth and freedom hard-won by an earlier, hardier generation. The leftist narrative of Vietnam-as-imperialist-conquest is the only narrative tolerated in the universities, lovingly handed down from the Bill Ayers to the Barak Obama generation. What other view would we expect these "coddled flower children" to hold?
These "vile, semi-literate sapheads" will one day be responsible for defending our security, and when the enemy overtakes us, they will be the first to go under the bayonet. Their delusions will make it so.