Race Card? Give me a break. Did 17 year old Trayvon Martin use the race card when he was shot for carrying Skittles? Did 12 year old Tamir Rice use the "race card" when he was gunned down in cold blood in a Cleveland park? Did Walter Scott use the "race card" when he was executed for a broken tail light? Colin Kaepernick risked his life and career protesting police getting away with murdering innocent black men in modern day America. He was protesting the absence of due process when it came to racist police escaping justice when they played judge, jury and executioner in their murder of innocent black men.

Kaepernick certainly wasn't protesting the stars and stripes nor the military. Yet, the Right Wing autocrats knew they could manipulate public opinion by distraction and obfuscation. So now we praise anyone in a uniform as a "hero". Again, gimme a break. Was Lt. Calley a hero? Was Colin Powell a hero when he lied to the United Nations and sank us in an unjust war that has cost us thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands of Middle Eastern lives and over $2 trillion out of the American treasury.

What has become of our once beautiful country that was the beacon of hope for the whole world? Now, we just want to spend ever more money and fatalities for war. And to quote the wise man Edwin Starr, "War! Uh! What is it good for?---Absolutely Nothing!!" In an America truer to her ideals, we would be showering praise on teachers, community organizers, volunteers for the Red Cross, the men and women who traveled thousands of miles to help those suffering in Houston and St. John, USVI and Puerto Rico.

Do we need a military? Sure. But let's stop with the simple, obligatory "thank you for your service" and have mandatory service for everyone. If every 18 and 19 year old was mandated to serve 2 years in the military, I'm betting that we wouldn't have any perpetual wars. I'd wager we wouldn't have massacre after massacre and I'm betting that we wouldn't accept racist cops shooting down our fellow Vets. If we were all Vets, we could get our of this contemptible "thank you for your service". We all would serve and realize the military is as screwed up as any bureaucracy and that there is nothing noble about war.

And yeah! I'm a Vietnam Vet who grows tired of the current militarization of the American soul.