presluc

I don't know how many of you posters remember the Pat Tillman case that was in the news awhile back.
Pat Tillman was a football player that enlisted in the army and was sent to Iraq.
His mother was told that her son had been killed by insugents in Iraq.
It was later discovered that her son had actually been killed by freindly fire.
Recently I caught an interveiw Mrs Tillman was giving in which she said, after a question was asked "freindly fire is a mistake mistakes happen.

I wish to take this quote a little further.
We all make mistakes little and big.

However in my opinion when a mistake is made one has 3 choices
1 LIE
2 PRETEND IT DID NOT HAPPEN
3 TELL THE TRUTH TRY TO CORRECT IT MAKE LESS MISTAKES IN THE FUTURE.

If you lie, there's alway's the chance that the truth will come out like in the case of Pat Tillman
If you pretend it didn't happen there's always the chance people will find out aka wire taps without warrents. Abu Grad prison
Tell the truth you may get bruised but you gain knowledge and become stronger.
Responsibilty is something that should never be avoided it should be embraced.

Ladies and gentlemen I await your veiws and comments on this subject.

PayingAttention

I think poor Pat Tillman was conned into giving his life in a lost cause.

The fact that he was killed by so-called "friendly fire" makes his sacrifice even more tragic but no less heroic.

The lies that the US army told his mother should be punished in criminal court martial. The military careers of those responsible should be destroyed.

oxymoron

Some times the expanded role of the media in our foriegn policies is not in the best interests of the people. I think it would have been better to think of Tillman battling insurgents and loosing his life, rather then the ugly truth which is worth very little to any one. He lost his life in the line of duty the negative details of the circumstances serve no one except Al Queda.

__________________
"The Greatest Freedom, is the Freedom to oppress others"

PayingAttention

If the media had taken more notice of US foreign policies earlier (and accurately reported it) we may not have got into the mess we are in now.

The lack of knowledge of the average American about the world outside US borders is extremely worrying.

FRYandBENDER

I have heard or read somewhere that Mrs. Tillman has evidence leading her to believe that he was intentionally killed by "friendly fire." I believe she may have a book coming out about it. Can't remember where I heard it though.

__________________
Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

Common insult examples and how to avoid them

Joe Terrazzini

I teach my children to tell the truth no matter the circumstances. For what do we have in this life but our own word. People who hold the truth as a value are trust worthy and, as a result, often times have many friends. This is something I can attest to personally. The ability to tell the truth bad AND good is an asset which is invaluable. Trust is THE most valuable asset within any relationship. With trust comes intimacy. With intimacy come richness and security within relationships.

In contrast lieing creates distrust. Distrust leads to distance, guardedness and insecurity. This is the situation our government is experiencing now. Never in my life have I seen this much distrust in our government. The resulting insecurity and mistrust in our country has created an environment that leaves us all feeling unsupported and incredibly unsure of our future. If a government is willing to lie repeatedly then God only knows what is REALLY going on behind our backs.

Its quite scary.

Hey Mr. Bush! Do us a favor........... TELL THE FUCKING TRUTH!!

__________________
Hey you! Yes you. Had enough yet?.................How about now?

presluc

Of course the fact that this happened to Pat Tillman or any human beig that lost their life because of a mistake is tragic at best.

As I have said mistakes are made the question is what to do after they are made.
In my opinion the answer is take responsibility, which is not being done enough in these times.
If we can not admit to our mistakes of the past it would seem the future would be questionable.

presluc

As in the op if a mistake is made and a lie is told there is always the chance of the lie being exposed.

presluc

Although I haven't read the book the title is "BOOTS ON THE GROUND"

This thread was supposed to be about responsibility and on how American leaders and American people veiw it.
Is resposibilty being used too much, too little too much spin too much confustion, too much media influance?

presluc

An excellant post Joe, I'd even go one step further.
I maybe a bit old fashioned but I make it a habit to keep my word, which is why I do not give it often.