Support our Troops

It all started a couple of years ago. At first they were too subtle to take notice of, but after appearing on every soccer-mom's bumper in America I finally squinted a little bit harder. The apparently growing popularity of "Support Our Troops" ribbons had finally caught my attention. I had never really thought much about them. Just another bumper sticker among the many. It wasn't until getting cut off by a supersized SUV the other day that I was forced to contemplate the sincerity of these stickers. I'm all for supporting the troops, but seriously, does throwing a five dollar purchase on your vehicle really classify you as an ambitious supporter? It seems to me like these stickers are more of a trend than a genuine outcry. Not to mention the type of vehicles that sport the ribbons. Apparently you need an SUV to buy one of these things. If irony hasn't slapped these sticker-bearers in the face, then maybe I should break it down for them. Driving a four-ton SUV around that gets 10 mpg is NOT supporting your troops. Has it not crossed these peoples minds that the reason we are in a war is because mindless consumers cant cut dependence on foreign oil? But no, thinking like that is trouble, I mean how fun is watching a DVD in the backseat of a 4-wheel drive tank when you feel guilty about it. I'm sure when Private Jones gets back from Iraq with his legs blown to bits he's gonna look at the back of that Hummer and say, "Wow, look at that sticker. I'm glad the citizens i'm risking my life to protect are supporting me in every way they can!" Maybe I'm being to harsh, but this is just one of the many hypocrisys that seem to linger in our modern society. We are all hypocrites in some way or another. lets face it, we are a society fixated on over-consumption. And until we can stop lying to ourselves, and ditch the luxeries in life that we all feel so entitled to, maybe none of us are better than those a#$h*@s with ribbons on their Hummers.