SIVACRACY.NET

Walking to work today I saw, at a red light, two SUVs, one a Lexus, the other a Mountaineer, sporting yellow "Support the Troops” magnets. Just how lacking in a sense of irony do you have to be to buy a magnet for $1.50 at your local Target and slap it on your gas-guzzling SUV?

These magnets bother me. First, there is the fact that they are magnets. I guess the manufacturer felt stickers are too permanent an expression of deeply held convictions.

But here’s the real reason they bother me. And it is not that I think the people who slap them on are falsely patriotic. I am sure they love America just as much as I do.

It is that I am highly suspicious that all these people are actually doing anything more than displaying a ribbon to support the troops. In a country where so few of us vote in huge, important elections, I don’t think I am being paranoid.

Here in New York, the magnet meme is just starting to take off. But where my mom lives, it has spread like wildfire. Drive around the North Shore Mall in Danvers, Massachusetts, (yes, Massachusetts, home of Liberals, Bluest of the Blue, etc.) looking for a parking space and 8 of 10 cars display these ribbons. Often two ribbons. They come in packs of two, you see.

This is not very nice of me, to think so badly of my fellow citizens. I feel guilty about it. So, here is a question. What do you do to SUPPORT THE TROOPS? I would be interested in hearing from everyone, even if you don’t have a magnet on the back of your car.

I’ll start the ball rolling. We do three things. None of them require any sacrifice at all and are so simple that it hardly even feels like SUPPORT.

First, we donate our Delta frequent flyer miles through Operation Hero Miles. We use our Delta AMEX for everything, so we often have a ridiculous balance in our Skymiles account.

Second, we have written letters to Senators Clinton and Schumer and Congressman Nadler asking them to sponsor and support efforts to increase funding for programs, especially healthcare, for Veterans.

Lastly, inspired by a request from Major Bateman that I saw at Altercation, we are sending our used magazines to the troops. We have a lot of used magazines cluttering up our place so this is a great idea. Now, Major Bateman was apparently overwhelmed with packages, so we have turned to the service AnySoldier.com to identify soldiers that have requested magazines.

When Siva’s cousin was in Iraq, during the invasion, I sent him cards and letters every few weeks. Although I do not know how supportive this was. I had never met him and as I was consumed by wedding planning at the time, he often got long, rambling letters filled with my “funny story about picking a wedding cake.” He is home now, safe and sound, (and has forgiven me) so I have not done that in a long while. But he is headed back at some point, soon. I will try to be less single-minded during his next deployment.

So let’s hear from you, Sivacracy readers. Maybe we can start a meme that actually does SUPPORT THE TROOPS.