One of the ways that the Bush Government has attempted to attack war-protesters is by saying that they are being disloyal by not supporting the troops. This mindset angers me for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is the use of the term "the war". This suggests that people are protesting the war on terror. I happen to think that the idea of a war against a tactic is strange. However, I support the military presence in Afghanistan because I believe there is a threat there and that we should be fighting the Taliban. I do not support the Iraqi War for a variety of reasons. One is that I do not believe it was smart or right to go to war there in the first place. The second reason is that I believe it is being very poorly managed. The third reason is that our troops are in the middle of a civil war. The last reason is because I don't believe military power is the correct way to address the problems.
The second reason is because I support the troops. I respect them and wish nothing but the best for them. I just don't think they should be fighting an unjust war that most Americans don't agree with.
It is also a diversifying tactic. Instead of saying, these people don't agree with you, it is being said that, in effect, anti-war people (liberals) want American troops to die.
,It is also shifting the responsibility of the war from the government to the soldiers. It's like saying that anything bad in the war is the soldier's fault, but it's wrong to tell them that because it hurts their moral.
Lastly it is an attempt to limit free speech during war. Obviously, they can't legally stop anti-war protesters. Instead they are trying to guilt them into silence by saying that anti-war is anti-troop.
There is nothing I hate more than being accused of not supporting the troops because I don't agree with the war. That is so far from the truth, you need a telescope just to see the truth.
"It is never too late to give up your prejudices." Henry David Thoreau
"In case of dissension, never dare to judge till you've heard the other side." Euripides
Hear hear. Whenever I hear that "liberals don't support the troops" I cringe. How is supporting a war that is killing our troops for no good reason NOT supporting the troops?
You must be the change you wish to see in the world -- Mahatma Ghandi
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi
As an Iraq War veteran and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (http://www.ivaw.org/user/326), I can tell you that not only do I agree, but many, many veterans agree as well. If the accusation that protesting the war was somehow antithetical to supporting the troops (whatever supporting the troops is really supposed to mean), then we would somehow be against ourselves.
Next week is the 22nd Annual Veterans For Peace Convention in St. Louis. I will be there as a member of IVAW with hundreds of veterans who would stand up to any war-supporter right next to you.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Justin C. Cliburn
I will.
I sometimes wish that we could somehow band together and actually do something...ever heard of a military going on strike? Anyway, as a reservist and active duty wife I am going have to agree with all of this. What does support the troops mean anyway?
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo