I am a soldier and I see it several different ways:
First, the phrase "I support our troops" and those like it are wielded by both sides as a weapon and I resent that. It is used to make the opponent look unpatriotic or unsupportive of "our great young men and women in uniform" and it is so patronizing it makes me feel ill.
I hear republicans say it in order to make it look like democrats who don't support the war are somehow betraying individual soldiers. I also hear democrats use it in the exact context: that yanking funding for troops and leaving a job half finished is being done out of a heartfelt desire to protect soldiers. Of course, if you yank out most of the soldiers life will be that much worse for the ones who are left.
I hear talk show hosts preface any criticism of the war effort with equally patronizing language and I really don't appreciate it. It seems like people use such phrases to legitimize anything war related.
However, I am very glad that the attitude is not the same as it was in years previous. I would much rather have to deal with some false support than real abuse.
Whether you agree with the war or not you have to respect that soldiers are willing to risk thier lives for their country and are trying to do the right thing. While some people here are willing to lead sheltered lives and pretend that without the US the world would be a very gentle place, many soldiers are tired and scared in other countries getting a very different first hand perspective.
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"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence
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