The "Duh" in "Team"

When I was in high school, I didn't play sports.  Shocker, eh?  I did attend the games to support my friends, and when speaking of our team with others, I would say things like, "We're doing so well this year, I think we'll make it to the state finals."  This was normal because it was my class in my school. 

A massive pet peeve of mine is when adults speak the same way about professional sports teams.  It makes them sound ridiculous.  They don't even live in the same state as their team yet talk as if they're a member of the organization.  They'll exclaim, "We made the playoffs!" 

No, they made the playoffs.  You made nacho dip and are sitting on the couch stratching your beer gut, so stop deluding yourself. 

Real quick...

Had a thought in the car today while cursing the morons who text and drive.  (You know what's fun?  Pull up along side of them and then blare your horn.)  So here's the thing...people use LOL when texting.  I don't.  Ever.  But some do.  It means Laugh or Laughing Out Loud.  Nobody is actually laughing when they use this.  Lying bastards.  LOL is a cute little acronym but utterly stupid.  If you find a text humorous, why wouldn't you simply reply with "HA"?  An existing, shorter word that has a glimmer of intelligence behind it?  The same rings true with OMG (Oh My God).  Why not just use "AH"?  And for WTF (you know what it means), use "HUH?".  I'm a huge fan of keeping things simple.  And seriously, have you ever laughed your ass off (LMAO) or found yourself rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL)?  You have not, so stop using these idiotic expressions.  Thank you, and good night.

War is hell...duh.

If someone becomes a firefighter, it's reasonable to assume that one day, they will be required to fight a fire.  If someone becomes a cop, they might be a victim of criminal violence.  When's the last time you heard of any cop or firefighter or any member of their family bemoan the dangers involved with these vocations?  You don't.  Why?  Because it would be stupid.  You don't hear, "I joined the fire department but didn't think they'd send me to battle deadly fires."  Neither do you hear, "I wanted to be a police officer but didn't expect to be sent in to stop armed robbers or drunken wife beaters."  You don't ever hear such things because these folks and their loved ones know the risks.

So why is it that we hear so much complaining and protesting from the families of soldiers and even from the soldiers themselves?  "Sure, I joined the National Guard but I didn't expect to be deployed, didn't expect to be asked to guard our nation."  "My child shouldn't have to fight in such an unpopular war."  Or even, "My child died for nothing."  This attitude is an insult to the memory of those who sacrified themselves for our country. 

I'm a left-wing liberal and not really a fan of America's current military actions.  However...one of my best friends served a year in Afghanistan.  His patrol was attacked by a suicide bomber, and he still carries shrapnel in his body.  It never crossed his or my mind to complain about his orders or about the war in general.  I was pissed at the bomber, not our politicians.  My friend knew the risks when he joined the reserves and I know he knew.  It was his choice.  I don't have to like the war, but I'll be damned if I'll lessen his accomplishment by bitching about it.