EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Cause Announcement from Thank A Soldier
I recently was contacted by a friend of mine who's little girl wanted to organize a "Letters to soldiers" campaign at her school. I had put her in contact with the wife of a soldier friend of mine and everything was good to go. Her daughter was excited about doing this and word was starting to get around about this campaign.

The "Parent Board" met and this is what they decided : " the parent board thinks if we support the troops that the school would be supporting the war and there is no war it is a peace keeping mission with conflict"

In the past three years I have setup schools from all over North America in doing such a thing and to hear that a school doesn't want to be associated with "Supporting the war" boils my blood. Whether we support what these men and women are doing over there or not, it's about brightening their day with a letter from home.

One story from my Tim Horton's for our troops campaign I received a Thank You letter from a soldier who had received a Tim Horton's certificate with a message and drawing on the back from a grade four student that simply said "I LOVE YOU STAY SAFE" he did not cash this certificate in for a coffee, he kept it with him on his entire tour and still has it to this day.

One of the schools I setup with a troop of soldiers when the soldiers returned, they went to visit the school kids and gave a presentation and slide show about what they are doing over there. These guys were in the reconstruction team and for the most part they gave out water to families who had never seen a clean glass of water. Gave out school supplies and drawing materials to children who had never held a crayon with a piece of paper.

Recently at work I sent about ten boxes of goods to a Front lines unit who hardly ever receive letters or packages from home. There were things like sealed brownies, magazines, socks and deodorant and my buddy told me for them it was like Christmas. These guys are away from the base for months at a time and to get items out to them it was really appreciated.

I'm not going to name the school, I am simply asking that if you read this blog and you agree with what I've written, Please leave a comment and I will be sending them all in a email to the Parent board and see if we can get this decision reversed.

Thank You

You can either leave a comment here on the cause page or comment on the blog
 http://thankasoldier.wordpress.com/schoolsaysno/
 
Dave Murphy
Cause Creator

I totally agree with everything you have said and if there is anything we can do just let us know.

Just want to clarify that this is not happening at my son's school. I am a member of Thank A Soldier and this was an email from the cause. We have a good friend that serves in the United States Army, and speaking with him on a regular basis I know that a soldiers spirit can get down while serving during this war. And I believe if our soldiers believe we support them in fighting for our country it helps with these difficult times. The only thing we can do at the moment for this awful situation that is taking place at this unknown school, is leave a comment on the thank a soldier web page and hopefully the parent can get it reversed. Thank you for all your support, I know the troops thank you too!!!
 God Bless
         Cutter

The parent group is engaged in a misguided, constitutionally dubious and passive-aggressive form of shooting the messenger. I don't always like what the police do either, but they are heroes, and they have a job to do, so I am supportive of first responders... including law enforcement. It's no different with these soldiers and marines. They have a job to do, and they knowingly risk their lives on the behalf of American civilians... they are heroes.

I'm not supportive of the transition from liberation to occupation in Iraq, and while I support the military pursuit of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, I do have concerns that it too will become a questionable and expensive occupation having little to do with the original operation. But these are POLITICAL issues that have -nothing- to do with the men and women serving on the ground!!! Military service people are the truest form of citizen - they take -true- responsibility for our republic and its future... they offer their very lives for it. To besmirch them wholesale or to make blanket refusals to offer morale boosting support gestures based on politics or partisanship is indecent and reprehensible.

Whether I agree or disagree with their substance, I can sympathize with the political and ideological positions these parents have. They have every right as individual Americans to choose not to participate. And they have every right as parents to prohibit their individual children from participating as well. But to foist their political ideology onto the entirety of the student body by prohibiting this kind of action is an immoral, if not an illegal, abridgment of the other students first amendment rights.

Supporting the individual ground troops who defend our democracy and our sovereignty is not a partisan issue, nor is it a political issue. What these parents are attempting to do use their school to make a passive-aggressive political statement through their children over an apolitical support gesture directed at individual soldiers, and as a direct result, they are also violating the speech rights of the students who want to participate. Whether looked at through the "conservative" lens of troop support, or through the "liberal" lens of civil liberties, from either angle what they are attempting to do is shameful.

how can some people say that they wont let schools write letters to the soilders. if it wasn't for the soilders risking their lilves we would not have the freedom that we do. If my childs school did something like that i would be outraged. every child should have the option to send a letter to a soilderand the school should be ashamed of its self for teaching kids that they should not support our troops.

thats just  @#$%$^$%&^%&^(>)&**$%^#$$#%&^%*^&(^& rolleyes, i am  teed to think ..i cant even type  thats just counterfit
 Dexter