Congress's Break Up with Our Troops

Break ups are never pretty. To watch a relationship dying for lack of trying by one party is particularly painful. When one party decides the relationship is over, and the relationship is no longer worth fighting for, there is usually not much to salvage. But that does not mean that what was once strong and beautiful cannot be resurrected with time, patience, and understanding.

This is not about me and my husband. Even though we are separated by 6000+ miles, we have grown closer during this deployment. Unfortunately, he tells me that he is hearing from some of his fellow soldiers that their wives/girlfriends are providing ultimatums: "Be home by a certain date, or I am leaving you."

Such an ultimatum on its face is difficult for me to comprehend. An individual soldier has no (zero, zilch, nada) control over when he (or she) will be able to be home. (Or are these wives/girlfriends secretly wishing that their loved ones get injured to come home early? Equally incomprehensible.)

But that got me thinking.

Congress and Our Servicemembers. The majority party in Congress, like the discouraged wife, wants its troops home now. I get that. But what SEN Harry Reid and his ilk are telling the troops is that the relationship is over unless you come home by a certain date. We will cut you off unless you are home soon. We will leave you. An ultimatum.

For some of our troops, not only are they getting ultimatums from their loved ones, they hearing them from Congress too. The majority party in Congress is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of low morale.

So SEN Reid, thanks for the "Dear John" letter you personally addressed to my husband and his soldiers, claiming it to be from the American people. Talk about demoralizing.