I would like to apologize in advance for the length and tone of this. I want it to be known that this is not an attack on anyone. I am in no way, shape, or form writing this with the intention to insult anyone, but i'm tired of arguing with people only to lose them afterward.
This is my stance on supporting the troops that are currently engaged in Iraq.
The first thing that needs to be done is is to define the meaning of the word support as it is currently being used. It is my understanding, by the context that it is often used, that to support the troops is to have a level of appreciation for why they are there. This is the crux of my problem and the reason for the loss of my friends. I don't appreciate their reason(s) for being there. So in essence I don't "support" the troops.
Here is where I ask for your understanding. You need to comprehend how i define support. My lack of support is not a blanket rule for all the troops there. The basis of my stance splits the troops into two groups: those that were in the military prior to Iraq and those that joined after the war started. Those that joined prior to the war are those i support. I can understand their reason for being there, and i'm sure that there are a lot of them that aren't happy about being deploted to suppress an country that did nothing to us and wasn't a threat to us. My issue with those that joined after the war is that I have only had one that could give me a good reason for being there. These are the reasons that have been presented to me. I will list my thoughts on each
Patriotism: This is one that i have a serious problem with. Someone once told me that partiotism is the love of your nation, and is defined by the willingness to fight to make it better. The Iraq war does not reflect patriotism. The fighting there does not make this country better in any way. It does not make us safer, in truth it has made us less safe by inciting more anti US sympathies. That also discounts the reason that aslong as the war is fought there, it won't be fought here. Eventually it will be here again. My biggest problem with the patriotism excuse is that it wasn't acceptable until a foreigner attacked us. I didn't see flag waving after the Oklahoma City bombing. I didn't see the country's righteous indignation after we were attacked by a home grown domestic terrorist attack. That is pure hypocrisy.
Fighting for my freedom: This is a falsehood. I cannot honestly believe that any Iraqi thought to themselves "I hate Americans for their freedom". No one in Iraq tried to pass the patriot act. No one there demanded that google give them the record of my browsing history, or make it ok to wiretap my phones, or slide themselves into every aspect of my personal life. If any of them were really fighting for my freedom they would be on the White House lawn with their guns blazing
The troops are fighting so that i don't have to: Correct in the sense that i'm not over there in my BDU. For five years I did put my life on the line. I wore a government issued uniform and for five days a week I was the first line of defense against terrorist hostilities against public transportation. In the TSA I fought terrorism. I have stopped threats from getting through that would have left most of you as a smoking crater somewhere in the midwest.Remeber that the next time you fly through an airport and start complaining about how long the lines is, or because you have to take your shoes off. I have been a member of the armed forces as have most of my family. I spent large parts of my childhood in Ft Polk. So i have been a soldier and I have been an army brat
I'm doing it for my family: This was the only good reason that I have been given for joining after the war. My brother joined after the war started. He did it for something tangible. He did it so the army would help take care of his daughter. That is a clear and noble sacrifice and it's a logical one. Even from a Darwinian perspective it makes sense. He is risking his life for the very real exchange of his daughter's well being. Not for concepts such as patriotism, or the implausible chance that some iraqi army would be knocking on our door if he didn't.
They were a threat to us: in a way, sure. But they were a low man on a huge totem pole. Even if they did Have WMD's they would have only been a threat to the other countries around them, not a threat to us. There are plenty of countries that are a more credible threat to us. We went after the ones that couldn't put up much of a fight, and just happened to be full of oil. Korea is trying to reach nuclear capability and starts test firing ICBM's and we pick a fight with Iraq and start threating Iran? How much sense does that make?
I'm sure that i'm gonna lose some friends over this. All that i asked is that you respect my opinion, not that you agree to it. For those of you that stay, thank you. For those of you that find this interesting or want to argue or make your own points, please do. I am always open to anything that might broaden my view on things. I do ask you this though: present your case with logic.
