I Support The Troops
I have two close family members in the military, and one of them leaves for Iraq shortly. We aren’t allowed to know exactly when she will leave or where she will go, but we do know she is leaving for a long time. Does it make sense to anyone that I would choose not to “support the troops?” Support the troops. If only you could hear the disgust in my voice when I say those words. Those words have become an meaningless phrase since our invasion of Iraq in 20o3. One of my own is a troop so how insulting do you think it is to me and to her when you tell me I don’t support the troops because I don’t support the war? They are not one in the same and those of you who are so obtuse that you are unable to differentiate between the two concepts, shut up. I am not prepared to go down with Bush’s ship of familial hubris. I am not prepared for my loved one to go down for it. And I am certainly not prepared for her comrades to go down for it either. Stop repeating slogans and find something better to do than write barely literate, ridiculous letters to the editor. God help the next person I run into who has the temerity to tell me that I don’t support the troops. I support two troops thank you very much. In fact, I support them all.
Similar Posts:
- Here, Here Senator Kennedy
- Holbrooke Editorial on Rumsfeld and The Military’s Revolt
- Bush Team Calls Majority Of Americans Appeasers, Oh, And Lies
Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below or subscribe to my feed. You also can sign up for email delivery by clicking here.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
Comments
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Bravo, Myrna. My wife’s two sons are in the Middle East as we speak, and the younger son just celebrated his 22nd birthday in Fallujah. I am sickened by people who tell me that because I oppose this ridiculous misadventure of a treasonous war-profiteer of a President, that I “don’t support the troops”. Even more weird, I’ve actually been flamed on liberal blogs not because of my support of the troops, but of my scorn towards protestors who attempted to disrupt the loading of military cargo aboard ships bound for the Persian Gulf.
Supporting the troops doesn’t necessarily equal supporting the war. It never did, and it never will. The day my wife and I stop supporting our military personnel is the day there is no need for a military service. The problem is letting the 101st Fighting Keyboardists and Yellow Elephants control the debate, by letting these cynical exploiters wrap themselves in the flag and declare themselves arbiters of who is and isn’t ‘patriotic’, and not standing tall in the face of their lies.
Dealing with a wingnut is no different than any other kind of bully. Just stand up and hit him back, then he’ll show his true cowardice.
I opposed the war from the time of the “buildup.” But, being sensitive to the experiences of Viet Nam veterans, I have always supported the people serving in Iraq.
A family member was killed in Iraq a couple of years ago, and I am still watching his parents suffer. I don’t think they will ever recover. They are still quoting their son that by fighting “them” over there “they” won’t attack us here. I don’t agree, but his parents can’t face the fact that he didn’t die for a noble cause.
I consider every American life lost in Iraq to be wasted. I am horrified at the injuries other Americans are suffering in Iraq. That’s why I support the troops!
And speaking of supporting our troops, why isn’t our own government doing it? There are many, many examples, including inadequate equipment and vehicles, but the story today is about the mother sending Silly String to Iraq to use to detect trip wires. Why isn’t our military providing it? (A company with the right connections could make billions of dollars providing this under a no-bid contract.)
I support innocent iraqi citizens too. Some of them are going to have to die though. Thats one of the reasons I don’t support the war. Charging soldiers with murder is just a distraction. You can’t make war acceptable.
-M
My father was machine-gunned in both legs - Battle of The Bulge WWII. We were raised in the military - BRATS, we were called. A “Bird” Colonel when he retired, my Dad gave us an understanding of “War”. Better yet - he taught us the importance of “Peace” and a sense of humanity. He returned to his battlegrounds and found those Germans - both military and civilians - whose paths he crossed - and he wept. He spoke of how our governments need to dehumanize the other side (enemy, insurgent, terrorists) as well as our side (the “troops”)in order for us to support the cause - my father - my brothers - my students - now my nephews, neices, and our DAUGHTER will be referred to as “troops”. They are our families. they are our future. We do not support the war for many reasons. We love and care about our children as well as the Iraqui families who have suffered.