Maher's Mask Slips: Punching Down While the Republic Burns

[Mountain Mule]

64. I hate it when people make sweeping generalizations about an entire generation

And I have a one word reply:

Vietnam

My Dad was career military and when I was in high school, he served two tours of duty there. I was terrified each time. I would be glued to the nightly news every single evening trying to understand what was going on and wondering if he was alive or dead. Easy.

Quite a few young men in my high school class were drafted to go fight in that pointless horrible war. Easy.

Some of those boys never came home. Easy.

Others came home with PTSD. My Dad was one of them. He had so many bad dreams and his screams would wake me up in the middle of the night. Meanwhile the VA pretended that PTSD didn't exist. Oh, so very EASY.

When I hit college I joined the anti war protests and then Kent State happened. Four young college students who had no weapons were killed by the national guard. When this was reported, I couldn't stop crying. Tears came to me so EASY back.then.

You know, I feel so bad for Gen Z. We have left them a wrecked planet and now a wrecked democracy. They will not have an easy.time of it. No, not at all. So, yet again, I have joined another protest movement. This is not at all easy for me because my knees are wrecked and that sometimes makes it hard to walk. But I care deeply for my country and for ALL of us - no matter what age. It would be so easy to tell myself that I have done enough for one lifetime and just stay home but then I always remember the words of my sig line and back out this old war horse goes again.

Whatever generation you are, I wish you well.