"No one really cares"

I read an article yesterday on NBCNews.com that really frustrated me.  It is on the war in Afghanistan and the title is "No one really cares': US deaths in Afghanistan hit 2,000 in 'forgotten' war."

The article was on the main page's slideshow for about half a day, along with a slide that talked about celebrities in bikini's.  Actually the bikini story is still on the main page, just a different section, where the article on the war is no where to be seen.

What is going on with today's media (really I could say, what the heck is going on with today's society??!! but that is an bigger problem, so I'll stay small for now...)?  There are so many things wrong with this picture, I don't even know where to begin.  How about where the NBC news staff begins...

"KABUL, Afghanistan -- It was once President Barack Obama's "war of necessity." Now, it's America's forgotten war.
The Afghan conflict generates barely a whisper on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. It's not a hot topic at the office water cooler or in the halls of Congress — even though more than 80,000 American troops are still fighting here and dying at a rate of one a day.
Americans show more interest in the economy and taxes than the latest suicide bombings in a different, distant land. They're more tuned in to the political ad war playing out on television than the deadly fight still raging against the Taliban. Earlier this month, protesters at the Iowa State Fair chanted "Stop the war!" They were referring to one purportedly being waged against the middle class."

That's a sad statement, but it's a true one.  No one knows anything about this war.  They don't know that men and women are still dieing everyday.  They don't know that last week, two men were gunned down and killed by an Afghan officer they were training.  They don't know, that the men and women over there are getting shot at everyday, that everyday they still have to look out for IEDs, that they are losing friends, that some soldiers and marines are losing arms and legs from explosions, that helicopters are being shot down.  And what is really sad, is that they don't know that these troops are coming home with physical wounds and mental (such as PSTD).  Which means people don't know how to relate to them, which in our culture usually means that they just don't deal with them.

This really just made me mad, sad and disappointed.  Truthfully, I am biased due to the fact that I have friends that were and are fighting over there.  There is a quote from a soldier that is a depiction of how the troops feel.

"We all laugh about how no one really cares," he said. "All the 'support the troops' stuff is bumper sticker deep."

I even talked about this with one of my best friends that is stationed in Afghanistan and he said the same thing.  "We know the only time you all hear anything is if someone dies."  In my book, that's too late.

I am glad that most of the troops are coming home this fall (to be blunt...it's about freakin time).  I know they are proud to fight for their country and I thank them for that, even though their government and media do not properly show the gratitude they deserve, they keep fighting and are happy to.  That is a sign of true patriotism. 

If you are still reading, thank you.  I know it is a bit of a rant, but I believe it is important to remind people that it is not politics that are keeping us safe, but men and women that are away from their families who are putting themselves in danger everyday.  So please remember the troops.  And media...do your job and inform the people about their people.