by Chris Bodenner
A Marine and two-time veteran of the Iraq War writes:
I just had a look at Wesley Clark Jr.'s defense of his dad, and I've got to say that I'm monumentally unimpressed. Nobody begrudges General Clark a vacation from his busy schedule. What we veterans begrudge him is his participation in a show that exploits public esteem for the members of the U.S.military for the private corporate benefit of NBC and the celebrities it recruited for the show – all of whom chose, for one reason or another, not to serve their country in uniform when they had the opportunity to do so. General Clark's participation in the show may have been a "vacation" to him, but the general's presence makes the show look like some sort of quasi-official charity event, rather than the ridiculous example of reality TV it is. This conduct may be legal, but it clearly is unbecoming of a 4-star general and a genuine national hero.
The thing about being in the military is not so much that we do things that are dangerous – although we sometimes, even often, do. It's that as long as you are in the service, you have to go wherever you are told to go and do whatever you are told to do.
Even if a lawful order doesn't look like it's in your personal best interest – say, because it looks dangerous or uncomfortable or boring or deadly – it is still an order, and it still has to be followed. The quasi-celebrities on "Stars Earn Stripes" are indulging themselves in all the fantasy-glamour side of the military without ever shouldering the duty side of it, and that ultimately makes them as phony as Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo movies. The fact that Todd Palin and Nick Lachey are going to be all over TV, getting famous for doing this stuff, while thousands of actual servicemen do the real thing in dangerous anonymity in various random shitty places around the world is what makes the show so thoroughly disgusting.
As for the "at least it's for a good cause" excuse: not gonna fly. There is nothing preventing NBC, or Dean Cain or Leila Ali, from making a donation to the USO, the Marine Corps League or the Tillman foundation on their own, without all the hoopla. Instead, NBC is going to reap enormous profits from the show, the show will glorify a bunch of unimpressive celebrities, and in return some lucky military charity will get a drop in the bucket. Frankly, it's demeaning to the organizations themselves to have Todd Palin or Nick Lachey use the show for self-promotion in return for a token donation.
My suggestion, for what it's worth, is that the last episode of the show ought to feature military recruiters from the services who come in with a standard 8-year military contract for each one of these jokers, so America can see what excuses they come up with for not signing on the dotted line. (Yes, you have to be 35 or younger to join the service, but we ought to be able to get an age waiver for the highly fit and well-trained participants, right?) And Mark Burnett can get a close-up camera for that magic moment when the recruiter says, "Well, you're telling me you honor and respect our servicemembers. You've proven that you're good enough to be one of us. What are you waiting for?" That would be entertainment I would watch.
The Dish 