The Ghosts in my Feed
When I see the suggestion from LinkedIn to connect with you, I tense.
I plunge back in time to the jet fuel and exhaust, the hours spent in a loud, cold metal shell flying over landscape we could not see, days in foreign countries spent missing our families and telling each other stories about them.
You were older than me, more seasoned. You taught me how to be a better officer by bringing my authentic self to work each day.
But that was true of many people I served with. Men and women who swore to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America. So many of them chose not to vote for VP Harris, either embracing the MAGA propaganda or opting not to vote because of disapproval of the Biden administration.
When I pleaded with them not to place a narcissistic, selfish, greedy, disrespectful bigot in a position of power over our men and women in uniform, they chided me.
Told me I had changed, lost touch with reality.
Told me they didn’t want to lose their benefits, become homeless.
Told me there was no good choice.
Denied that he was disrespectful of our military.
Called him tough, demanding and decisive.
Told me that a vote for Trump would mean Tulsi, Elon and RFKJ, among others, could "bring a renaissance to the swamp that stymied reform."
Told me the moment required a policy decision, not a moral one.
I see the LinkedIn profile picture and want to know you again.
How is your wife? Your twin boys? What has your career been like? What have you learned?
But I could not bear it if I found out you are one of them. So I click away.