This Iraq war
is being supported by pure political inertia at this point.
The New York Times had an excellent article about the Ohio region that has lost so many young Marines in the past few weeks. Some of the bereaved spouses, brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents are questioning why their loved ones had to die. But most are still supporting the war and the man who started it.
Their logic: We can't bear to think that he might have died in vain. And it's cruel of anyone to suggest that.
Other war supporters, not as close to the carnage, use the same argument. A little red, white and blue magnetic ribbon on the car simply says, "Support Our Troops," meaning, Support the War so they won't get demoralized. Help our troops maintain their faith that their courage and their lives and their limbs are not at risk for an illusion.
That pretty much ends the argument, doesn't it? Oppose the war, oppose the commander in chief, and you are being cruel to the troops, and to the grieving relatives of those already dead.
That's the logic that killed 50,000 of our troops in Vietnam.
posted by whitebeard | 10:55 AM
2 Comments:
I am not sure that I would say that everyone who uses the "support your troops" mantra is saying so out of fear that the troops will die in vain or think they are dying in vain (and I know that yours was a general statement, not an absolute). I myself use the slogan to support the people that I know in the war who don't want to be there themselves. That's why I can say "support the troops, but not necessarily the government." Which is something that many who protested in Vietnam for some reason didn't understand. That a vote for our troops is not a vote for the war.
By the way, I am from that area in Ohio. One of my best friends' cousins was one of those killed. And my best friend is currently serving in Iraq. Support our troops, but not the war. Support our troops, but not our governments' lack of good decision making.
Thanks, Sniper. That was well-said. You are also the first person who has responded to my relatively new blog. I wish I had some kind of a doorprize for you.
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