Beyond Yellow Ribbons

Maya's Granny, with her post "Our Boys" really got me thinking about how little impact the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have had on most of us who don't have a friend or loved one stationed there. Regardless of how you feel about these wars (I was personally for going to Afghanistan and vehemently opposed to invading Iraq), the bottom line is that our kids are over there, away from their families and too often in harm's way. While most American's now oppose staying in Iraq, the outcry just hasn't reached watershed volume. Maybe if more of us felt connected to the troops we'd all be going Cindy Sheehan on the Bush administration's and Congress' asses.



A cousin told me about AnySoldier.com a couple of years ago. It works this way: soldiers in the field sign up on the website and indcate what types of items that other soldiers in their unit need. You sign up to send that soldier a "care package" with those items, and they will distribute to those in their unit who need. You can also send letters, since apparently some soldiers don't get much mail.



This seemed to me like a much more concrete way to show support for our kids (and they are mostly kids) who are over there putting their lives on hold and on the line in service to us. I've signed up and will be sending my first care package this weekend. It seems like the least I can do.