Chris Hayes is trending, praise the Lord!

It’s refreshing to know that there’s somebody in America who has an opinion that runs contrary to the general belief that anything military related needs to be exalted. Unfortunately for Chris Hayes, his thoughts on the use of the word hero have resulted in him being demonised to point where he has had to issue an apology for his comments. Obviously, as a journalist he wishes to maintain his job and career, so I don’t read to heavily into the sincerity of the apology.

While I greatly respect him for the initial argument of which I deemed to be a valid one, his subsequent reversal in light of the fire-storm of the general public has rescinded some of the respect I had for him.

As we all know, America has the US Constitution which contains The First Amendment . Said Amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

As so many Americans are quick to quote this to justify the opinions that they wish to express, it seems that when something is contrary to what the majority of the general public believe, this Amendment seems not to exist. I think it’s a sad reflection of the country as a whole and it highlights the success of the government in their ability to spin a belief that anything remotely negative concerning the troops of the United States borders on blasphemy.

I take this stance as someone who was born in Ireland and still resides here. I have an innate understanding of what war is, not from the atrocities that have plagued the North of Ireland but from the actual stories and reasoning behind the people who died for Ireland through-out the country’s history and during various wars such as WWI and WWII.

Do I have an opinion on certain people and the reason they died? Yes I do. Where some people will call Bobby Sands a hero for his death during a hunger strike in 1981 I would not. Does it make me a terrible person? No. Does it make my opinion less valid? It doesn’t as I can present my reasoning for it in a lucid and sensical manner.

Padraig Pearse – A Man Deserved Of The Title Hero

When I think of a hero, in the genuine sense of the word, somebody like Padraig Pearse immediately springs to mind. He was one of the leading men of the 1916 Rising and fought to secure the freedom of Ireland from an invading force and altruistically died for the greater good of the country. There was no oil supplies to be gained or trade relations improved by his actions. This is what a hero is. Selfless and for the greater good of his country.

It’s not to detract from the efforts of thousands of  US troops who whole-heartedly deserve both the praise and the title of hero. The men and women responsible for the assassination of Osama Bin Laden make the world a safer place for all but to deem every single person who serves as a hero is wrong and it detracts from the heroics of the people who are deserving of it.

As Chris Hayes alluded to, the branding of the word hero seems like a way to justify the continued casualties of soldiers who are fighting wars they do not fully understand the reasoning behind or the need for. America has gained financially from wars in the past such as The Gulf War. This is common knowledge and is not disputable. Soldiers also make a good living from their jobs, albeit with a massive risk in some cases.

The people of America need to take a backwards step and review their society. In a country that has such a gulf and divide between rich and poor, do they not see a need to spend a proportion of the allotted $1 trillion military budget in a way that will benefit the people of the country financially? The argument will be made that by spending that their ”freedom is safe” but this is something that has been ingrained to be true when it’s questionable.

It’s refreshing to hear Chris Hayes’ views and although some may say his timing was off, what he says holds validity. You just need to view it impartially to appreciate it.