For the most part, I avoid more serious topics altogether.
I started this blog to entertain my friends and myself and though I do occasionally delve into heavier subjects it is not something I do often.
Beware,
I am departing from that today.
Before I get too far with this I want to make something clear.
I've made a point of not obtaining my political opinions secondhand. If you happen to disagree with me I can respect that but do not make the mistake of assuming I believe what I do simply because I haven't done any research, have muddled thinking skills, sheep-like tendencies, or because I am excessively influenced by popular media.
That is just not the case.
I do not support the war in Iraq.
This fact will hardly come as a surprise to many of you. I am not a big fan of war in general and I believe military solutions to international issues are rarely the best response. I am a big suporter of military people. I believe the patriotic heart of most in the service is something to admire and I am deeply annoyed by the blithe and calloused indifference of many whose support of the war can be most accurately summed up as,
"I'm not over there and I like cheap gas, go George, go."
The havoc being visited upon the lives of our veterans is a travesty. Mental disturbances and physical injury are just the tip of the iceberg. Homeless shelters are reporting that Gulf War vets are the booming population in their midst and the results are only just beginning to tell us the other damage being suffered. It is my personal opinion that we have no place in another country's civil war and that we have reached the point where it is clear we are not going to achieve any sort of useful objective. We are throwing away the lives and futures of our country's military members and we are doing so for reasons that do not justify the sacrifice. It's time for us to get out and bring our troops home.
26 comments:
You rock, sister. Apathy sucks. It is possible to support our warriors without supporting the war...and I respect that you are bringing this out here for us to think about...and to connect...and act...mwah.
I wish I could say that I would turn the other cheek if someone approached me to hurt me. I wouldn't. If the situation were such that I felt my safety was imperiled, I would do whatever it took to "stop the threat." That is my training in my job. I have never worried about whether I would hesitate.
But this thing in Iraq. I don't get it. I don't get it at all. I believe in what a military is for. I do. But this thing in Iraq, I don't get it. But maybe that is the question to ask: What are we going to get? What result. Four more years and thousands upon thousands more lives snuffed out? So what do we get from that? What will anyone get from that?
So, Logo----if I see someone charging you, compromising your safety, rest assured that I would do anything in my power to stop that threat. I would take another life to preserve yours. But this thing in Iraq, I just don't get it.
Oh, sure, Cindra! You call me on the phone and just because you are a fast reader, I tell you to go read this and then you do and you leave a short comment just so YOU can be the first one. I take that as a threat. Yeah. And go see just what I am prepared to do about threats!!!! (calm, Gawpo....calm.....it's your day off......it's just a dream....go back to sleep.....)
Gawpo-What? You gonna take my birthday away? AGAIN? I wasn't trying to be first. I was supporting my friend, Logo, you dork. Mwah.
Sorry, logo. Not to minimize your point with sillytudes. Gawpo is right. there is no getting it. No reasoning with insanity. It is a mess and we ought not be there in my opinion.
I know ....let's give a man who wasn't even elected in the 1st place the power to demote western civilization!
Oh yeah, too late.
Interesting to see you saying this. I don't agree with the war either. When I was in the US last year, and said so in public, you'd think I'd just called everyone's mother a whore...
SJ - Here in the US, we have red states (republican) and blue states (democrat). Now, depending where you are, you get very different reactions.
In a red state, your opinion will not be met with favorable results. But, say if you were here (my state), you probably would have been bought a drink.
Wow. I'm not alone. Well, I knew I wasn't alone - but there was only one person I could talk to about it. I support the troups, but not the war. Like scaramouche jones said - if you say this outloud, people look at you like you are the next person to fly a plane into a building. This country is becoming something where we're afraid to have a difference of opinion.
And I am scared.
Cindra~ It's true, we can support them without supporting certain policies. Apathy DOES suck, mwah!
Gawpo~ I don't get it either, deep cleansing breathes, honey, you'll be ok.
Cindra~ Good fun is always funny, no worries, and thanks for the support. A good girlfriend is like a good bra, soft, supportive, and always close to your heart. :p
Snavy~ So you are a big Bush fan in general, I take it?
Susie~ That might change some thinking, eh?
Mr. Jones~ I've heard your accent, there couldn't have been any doubt during your visit that you hailed from parts elsewhere. I find it slightly odd that you should have been surprised by the reaction you received. Even if I love my neighbors I don't particularly want them taking sides during a family argument, and if you happen to agreeing with the other side, well...
We outspoken types have to be prepared to be spoken out to from time to time.
Snavy~ Aaaah, yes, the Blue/Red split, that does make a difference, doesn't it. Does this mean you will buy me a beer when I come visit?
Arm~ You are not alone, and I have to admit, where I am this point of view is pretty common. Pep talk: Never be afraid of having your own opinion and if you are willing to take some flack, you should voice it. Making waves is a good thing but be prepared for the turbulance. You don't make a difference going with the flow.
logo dear, you've handled a thorny issue deftly, as i knew you would.
though saddam was a brutal dictator it seems pretty clear we've entirely destabilized a nation and probably the surrounding region because of a very poorly thought out plan (if you can even call it a plan).
and the support or lack thereof given to the returning men and women, by our own government is appalling.
This misbegotten war is staying the course because it's doing exactly what it's supposted to do - bankrupt the treasury and take as much of the Constitution with it as possible. Maybe daddy wasn't into "the vision thing", but times have changed.
Well said Logo.
I think saying the words "I do not support the war" brings up images of Viet Nam War protestors harassing soldiers and the lack of respect and support the Viet Nam Vets received when they came home.
I was watching "Meet The Press" today and the statement "our children's, children's war" was spoken. It gave me shivers.
At first I supported the war, now like Gawpo, I don't get it (and I totally agree with everything he said). I'm not sure it was exactly a mistake as Saddam was a horrible evil man, but there was not a good plan and our brave soldiers have been hamstrung in their ability to actually do their jobs. So I say they should be brought home and soon because you are right, Logo their lives are being wasted by our stupid government.
Good for you. I gave to the Democratic National Senate Campaign Committe, if I am translating the acronym right. Anyway, I hope this helped get people into the government who will eventually do the right thing.
Standing and Clapping.
Lime~ Thank you, and ooooh yes, Saddam was the reason we were there, wasn't he. Been so long ago I could hardly remember. Compared to the Viet Nam era vets things are alot better but hardly where they could and should be.
Joe~ "Stay the course" is rapidly becoming one of the things I hate to hear, usually coupled with something about enboldening the enemy.
Balou~ I do think the current vets are getting more support than the guys in Nam received, from the public and the administration and that is as it should be, but I also think I have a responsibility to make sure continuing their support does not in any way look the same as supporting a continued or (god forbid) an increased presence over there. Our children's children's war, yikes.
Claire~ I could buy the justification for our entry into Afghanistan even though I felt it could have been handled better, but I never did buy the Iraq deal. Yup, its easy to agree with Gawpo on that one.
Weirsdo~ I just KNEW you would not be counted among the apathetic. I wonder if people in power even know what the right thing is sometimes, but we can always keep them informed with our dollars and our votes. They all seem to understand that language.
Annie~ Thank you, thank you
So glad you wrote this post; my son flew to Kuwait Friday, his first day of a 16-24 month deployment. The last couple of weeks have been full of so much heartache for all of us that love him-family and friends.
I'm so happy to have this link, it's full of such helpful information, gives me some direction.
God grant us peace. Hopefully, we will give it to ourselves before he does.
I think your standpoint is understandable and not hard to follow. It does not seem un-educated in the least. And even if it would, which it does not- even then would an opinion be better than "I don´t give a tiny rat´s ass!"
Very well handled:)
Fritz Hollings, former senator from South Carolina, in the run-up to Iraq pushed for the draft. His reasons: because if more members of Congress knew people who were to go to war, they'd be a lot less quick to vote in favor of it.
Where in the hell did my comment go?
I'm with you, completely. At the college where I teach, we're getting more and more returning vets, and they are in a state of shock. Then there are the spouses, left behind, who write papers in my class about the agony of everyday life with a loved one out at war...and then they write papers to me about how their marriages break up, once that beloved spouse comes back to the U.S.
And this doesn't even cover the agony of the Iraqi people.
Gnightgirl~Oh man, that is rough. We have a friend shipping out right now and another who will be going in a couple months. I hope the MFSO site will be helpful.
Actonbell~ I share your hope, the sooner the better.
Goldennib~ We rarely seem to be able to manage it, do we?
Minka~ Thanks, and yes, I at least give a tiny rat's ass, at the very least :p
Dorky Dad~ He may have had a point.
Grunt~ Blogger has submitted your name to the NSA. You are under investigation. Liberal commie pinko.
Jocelyn~ Its so true, damage everywhere, inside and out and it just doesn't end.
Touching on Jocelyn's comment, a high school friend of mine just got back from Iraq and his wife left him. He thought things were pretty good, going ok as can be with him oversees and such.. there's many more issues to this failure of marriage, but it still rings true about the damage that war causes. Adam's brother is in the military and he VOLUNTARILY signed up to be the first to be shipped out and that saddens me. I respect his vigor and pride for his country, but the kind of war that he's going to fight is so pointless and I'm afraid for his life and how it has already (and will continue to) affect his family. :-/
Being a Canadian, and being that our troops have supported this war as "peacekeepers", we too have our share of vets coming home injured or dead daily.
The impact is huge. Imagine how the Iraqi's are feeling. I have heard the horror stories of women and children being killed. Is this the way of a modern world? I thought we were smarter than this.
The money they are spending on the war each day would save a few small nations from starvation, and that is something I have a problem with. The lack of priorities. Poverty is the real enemy.
Damasta~ It's awful, isn't it?
Blue~ Our Canadian neighbors are most often much better neighbors to us than we are to them. The money, the lives, its a travesty.
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