Apology Not Accepted
Furthermore, it never will be accepted. Ronald R. Griffin explains why in today's Opinion Journal.
I missed the joke. You must forgive me, for there just is not a lot of room in my life for even good jokes–and there is absolutely no room for "botched jokes"–when the subject of the joke is my son who was killed in Iraq. I know exactly what came out of Sen. John Kerry's mouth, and in those words there is no interpretation required. His attempt to convince us–and, I believe, to convince himself that that there was really a botched joke buried deep within his insult is in fact a reaffirmation of his ever-present condescending nature. He actually believes that we are stupid enough to agree with him and start laughing simply because he said it was a joke. Mr. Kerry said exactly what he meant and meant exactly what he said. In those words Mr. Kerry did in fact wash completely away the facade of his support of our magnificent troops and revealed for all to see his true colors.
All one had to do is look into the face of Mr. Kerry as the last word came out of his mouth, and it was painfully obvious that he knew that he had just disparaged the entire military. As the firestorm grew, the calls for an apology filled me with unease. It is not up to him to determine if an apology is in order. That decision most certainly rests with the millions of individuals he offended, and then they would decide if they were going to accept one or not.
As Sen. Kerry began his soon-to-be-reversed "I apologize to no one" rebuttal to a call for an apology, I was driving by the memorial built in honor of Kyle, my son, and the other fallen heroes from my town. As I listened, I tried unsuccessfully to make sense of the meteor shower of thoughts that were streaking through my mind. Then came one remembrance that brought all those other thoughts to an instantaneous halt. Last year I had written an editorial and I received a number of written replies. Among those was one postmarked from San Diego addressed simply to "the father of a hero" and my town of Emerson, N.J.
It started off friendly enough then quickly became argumentative and before the first paragraph was completed this individual had written, "I am glad that your son got killed for he probably was an idiot just like you". My first reaction, and really the only reaction I have ever had, was sadness for an individual who is so consumed with anger that he felt it necessary to lash out at me for my beliefs.
That is exactly how I feel about John Kerry. His anger was in full bloom as he tried desperately to control the damage that his words had caused. He knew full well that he could not defend his remarks, so he attacked President Bush. In doing so he reinforced his now fully revealed condescending attitude towards our troops. He talked over them, as he always does, never even beginning to understand that there might be individuals who were truly and deeply offended by his remarks. The explanation for that is quite simple: He firmly and deeply believes that anyone who would be so stupid as to join the military is beneath the high moral perch on which he thinks he sits.
I strongly urge you to read the entire thing. It is a very, very powerful piece. The people who think about our armed forces in the way John Kerry does, or the editorial writer for the Tennessean that I posted about yesterday simply do not understand the offense that was given. They are incapable of understanding how deeply those words struck, botched joke or no. They cannot comprehend the level of pain that those words inflict. Because they cannot understand, they ascribe the outrage being expressed to political spin. They do not understand.
They do not, indeed cannot, understand what really motivates most of the men and women who choose to serve in the military. So they ascribe base motives and strut in supposed superiority. Their right to speak and think and act as they do is secured only by the people they denigrate. People like Mr. Griffin's son, Spc. Kyle Andrew Griffin. Or like Spc. Benjamin James Slaven. They do not understand the depth of respect many people do have for those who choose to enlist and serve. Real and genuine respect, not spin, not phony expressions of support.
And their excuses pretending to be apologies will not be accepted.
Personal Thoughts | Gaius Friday, 3 November , 2006
Other Links to this Post
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bRight & Early » — Friday, 3 November , 2006 @ 10:08 am
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » What Apology? — Friday, 3 November , 2006 @ 8:14 pm
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Leaning Straight Up — Saturday, 4 November , 2006 @ 4:12 am
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The Anchoress » A quick look around the ’sphere — Saturday, 4 November , 2006 @ 1:54 pm
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Kerry, Election Fraud, The Left And The Idiots Want Our Troops Out Of Iraq « Sigmund, Carl and Alfred — Monday, 6 November , 2006 @ 1:22 pm
By mokus, Friday, 3 November , 2006 @ 11:14 am
I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I can tell a hawk from a handsaw, and I know when I’m being insulted and when some blow hard is trying to double talk his way out of a jam, especially when he’s still trying to pass off additional insults disguised as an apology.
Well, Senator Kerry, thanks, but no thanks. I don’t think much of your efforts to weasel word your way out of your insult to our fighting men and women, past and present. But, to be honest, I didn’t think much of you before you opened your big mouth.