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Old 11-28-2006, 06:19 AM   #5 (permalink)
ratbastid
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Location: Yonder
Quote:
Originally Posted by NCB
I'm going to say that this poll is pretty much going to come down political lines, as well as whether or not someone (or someone's spouse) has actually served. Yeah, I know, a real Capt Obvious there
Why? Do you think anyone from any political leaning or level of exposure to service life is actually going to say, "No, I don't support our troops"?

I support the individuals our country has in the military. I fervently hope for their safety and their expedient return home. I am vocal in my opinion that they are being used as pawns in an unjustified war. I am furious with the political apparatus that needlessly put them in harm's way.

Now: just because they're in the military, does that give them a free pass on all behavior? Of course not. There are Lynndie Englands in the world. It's not a surprise that they show up in the military. There are lots of reasons a person might join the service--noble notions like honor and patriotism are great, but I suspect more people are in the military for what they can get out of it: the training, the education assistance, and in some cases the opportunity to play out aggression and violence that they can't do legally at home. I believe and hope that the latter category is a vast minority.

All the military people I know personally (and I know several) are above all professional adults, competently trained and capable of accomplishing any job they're given. I have the highest respect for them.

What I find really regrettable is the way "you don't support our troops" has become a political club. It seems like the days of using that accusation against anyone who questions the war are over--the tide has turned so thoroughly on the war that criticism of the policy is generally accepted to be valid. But for a couple years there, any questioning of the war or its motivations meant you were a treasonous non-troop-supporting terrorist.
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