in no way do i mean to disparage the men and women of our armed services who are currently stationed all over the place--

but i have been wondering (after seeing a few entertainment mag covers):

does seeing recently-blonde Julia Roberts waving in her bomber jacket in germany really make those troops feel better?

if you were living in a desert camp on the border of afghanistan and for one portion of an afternoon you got to hear j lo's singing voice- would you feel any differently about the prospect of death?

it just feels trivial to me, wrong somehow, a half-hearted attempt at boosting morale. can morale even be boosted? is it Hollywood's job to try their best?

are troops considered ungrateful if they don't feel like whooping when George Clooney crosses the makeshift stage?

i guess it isn't my place at all to try empathizing with or imagining being in the position that some of these men and women are in.