Former Navy SEAL and America’s most lethal sniper, Chris Kyle, was allegedly shot and killed by a Marine suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder whom he was trying to help. Former Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron Paul unfortunately decided to enter the fray with this misguided tweet.
Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense
— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) February 4, 2013
I understand that Congressman Paul was against our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and is generally anti-war. I can empathize with some of his arguments, but I’ve noted at other times his position is naïve. I’m not sure what he thought he was going to accomplish by tweeting this. Chris Kyle did what he did in the service of his country on orders. He fought valiantly and he deserves our respect. You may not agree with the current efforts, but show some respect for those in uniform.
Here Chris Kyle and his neighbor were trying to help a Marine who was struggling. That is noble. While Congressman Paul is a smart man, as a trained OB/GYN, he is not an expert on treating PTSD. Re-exposing PTSD patients to their triggers is actually not an uncommon approach, which is why Kyle had this Marine at gun lodge in the first place. Ron Paul’s tweet seems to suggest Chris Kyle was to blame for his death.
There are ways in which to engage people on how our military is used and where they are deployed. Congressman Ron Paul’s tweet about this incident did nothing to help or advance his anti-war position or move the dialogue on how PTSD is treated forward. It was simply disrespectful. Congressman Paul should apologize.
11 comments
If RP had any of my respect in the past, he has NONE now!! What a terrible thing to say!! Reminds me of the church who does hate crimes in the name of Jesus! Shame on RP!!
Better watch out! A.J. and Fischer are gonna fire you now!
They already knew I wasn’t a Ron Paul fan when I was hired. If Santorum, Huckabee, Palin, etc… tweeted this my response would have been the same.
I think people are misunderstanding this, though I could be wrong. No matter how some average blogger thinks that PTSD ‘could’ be treated, I think it’s pretty safe to say that it’s NOT wise to do it with a dangerous weapon in hand.
Yes I’m an average blogger, well hey I think I’m above average, but I’m biased ;). No I’m not a PTSD expert, and neither is Congressman Paul. That wasn’t an opinion by the way, that is a fact that it is a method of treatment. You may disagree with it, but it isn’t uncommon and it is practiced by people who know more about PTSD than you and I. We could certainly have a debate on the merits of doing that, but I think Congressman Paul’s tweet does nothing for the conversation. Perhaps it would have been better received without the “those who live by the sword dies by the sword” remark, no?
His comments were quite appropriate given Kyle’s unbridled enthusiasm for murdering people who were doing what I would do if I was defending my neighborhood from an army of invaders.
I hope this idiot didn’t breed hevdidbget what he deserved for once Paul was right
I think Ron Paul is beginning to get senile. Son, Rand soon needs to make some kind of statment to that effect or lose credability himself.
You are not making any sense.
Ron Paul finally debunks the myth himself, about “the Military loves Ron Paul.”
If any soldier still has even an iota of respect for the former Congressman after this tweet, then they don’t deserve to be serving in the U.S. Military, or know why they are in service.
I think people are being way to politically correct here. RP is not admonishing the man in any way. What he is saying is that a man who risked it all in dangerous combat situations by constantly putting himself in harms way by fighting enemies in foreign lands, ironically died violently but at the hands of a friend on home soil. Chris Kyle took chances serving his country; he did the same thing by taking his friend with PTSD to the gun range (he thought he was helping him). He lived a dangerous life for the betterment of others and in the end he died doing it. “He lived by the sword and died by the sword” period!!!! Nothing he said has anything at all to do with insulting, diminishing or belittling an american hero. he simply does not understand taking a man with his condition to the gun range … that it does not seem like the best of choices.
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