[i] do something to [/i] support the troops

You know, I dislike the yellow ribbon magnets people have on their cars that say, "support our troops." I wonder what people [i]do[/i] to support our troops. Hey, I work in drive-thru! Let's ask people!

Most people say they have them on to support a relative who's in the military. Okei. What do you do to support this relative? The answer usually end up in the "uhhh..." department. Some of them do write and send care packages on a regular basis, but most, don't. To me, it seems that the magnet amounts to telling people if you happen to meet a service member, you won't spit on them. I imagine that it might be comforting to Vietnam vets, but on the whole, I think it's a wimpy position.

And it's not as if it's difficult to adopt a service member. You could head over to anysoldier.com, pick the last person who updated, and just write letters, tell jokes, that sort of thing. No obligation to send care packages or meet them at the airport. The cushiest job in Iraq doesn't compare with being home, and generally speaking, a letter that comes off as "It's rough out there, and maybe I can cheer you up a bit" is as good as a box full of hooah bars. Maybe better.

So if you have a bumpersticker on your car, spend the $0.37 and the time to actually support our troops. It's much more appreciated.