The Tillman Story

I finally went to see The Tillman Story today. It's the documentary about the friendly-fire death of Pat Tillman, the NFLer-turned-Army Ranger. I've read all the accounts in the news and I knew the movie would make my liberal heart even madder once I saw it. I was right--I was pissed off about 10 seconds into the film. It brought back all the anger I have about the US being in a stupid, senseless war. It brought back all the sadness of attending the funeral of my friend's son, who was killed in Iraq a few months after Pat Tillman died. Why is it so hard, in the military, in government, in business; why is it so fucking hard to tell the truth? All the Tillman family wants is for someone to admit the truth. Why is it so damn easy to blame someone else, then cross your fingers and hope it all blows over? Why can't someone man-up and say "Oh my God, we really fucked up. We're responsible. We can't change the outcome but we'll work hard to prevent it from happening again." And I applaud the Tillman family for not backing down, for continuing to ask the hard questions, because that's what democracy is about, that's why Pat Tillman joined up, that's what our founding fathers envisioned for America. We should be grateful to those who stand up and question authority. Blind allegiance to a leader is irresponsible. We should question, research, and learn the facts, not the rhetoric. Too many leaders abuse their power, lose sight of what is important, and the power itself becomes the end-all. And that is a very dangerous thing.