Posted on 09/26/2001 1:42:57 PM PDT by stillafreemind
A serious dilemma arises from this thinking. If one truly believes a war (ultimately waged by non-soldiers) is immoral, how does one go about protesting said war without undermining or blaming the soldiers on the front line, who are just carrying out orders ultimately handed down from our elected officials?
Unless you believe that America would never wage an immoral war, it is a dilemma one must eventually face. Personally, I think government uses this dilemma to its own advantage - to keep dissent and opposition at bay. Most Americans, I believe, would allow an immoral war to be waged as a result of its loyalty to the men and women on the "battlefield." Yet, by being loyal, do we really do the men and women on the "battlefield" a service if the war is, in fact, immoral?
No, "America" did not spit on you, some misguided Americans did, while many others did not. Therein lies the key point that you fail to grasp (and that the vet described in the start of this thread fails to grasp).
As soon as he stops thinking of all Americans as "them", he may start to regain enough human perspective to understand that those who died on 9/11 are not the same people who may have given him a hard time thirty years ago...
The shrill strident women's movement, the greenes, evironmentalists, the 'peacenicks' of that era were all commanding the media's, the nation attention.
The biggest memorial attraction in Washington DC is the Vietnam Memorial. The nation anguishes over the loss of >58,000 young men and women. The quiet awe, the total reverance at this memorial touches ALL who pause, ponder and pray.
To my eyes, that about sums it up.
It's such a sensitive subject that it's hard to actually just itemize the specifics because putting such emotional thoughts and decisions into words (at least computer chat-room words) seems to trivialize them.
But I think you captured the reality. For a great many people, not just vets.
"There are legions of very bitter people out there, who for a wide variety of reasons feel a great deal of anger against our government. Now our government expects these same people to rally around the flag. It is not surprising that many are choosing not to do so."
Sadly, I'd imagine many of the people who were butchered in 911 may have been among the people who had bitterness and anger against the government. Now, that same government that so many people hate is in charge of defending their honor.
There's a song by Steely Dan's Walter Becker, off his CD "11 Tracks of Whack" called "Junkie Girl" that deals with a guy in love with a hopeless wreck and hopeless about his own love for the wreck, and a repeated verse of the song is:
No foolin' it's a fucked up world
Be cool, my little junkie girl
Right now, America is a grotesque mixture of Blue Nation America and Red Nation America. Being in love with America, but recognizing that so much of this country is Blue Nation America, puts all of us in the place of this tragic, tormented lover. We love America, but we recognize that Blue Nation America is going to hell, but there's just nothing we can do about our love...
Mark W.
It's easy - Blaming vets for the Vietnam war is like blaming the freed slaves for slavery.
The American public didn't give a crap when the Khobar Towers were bombed in Saudi.
The American public didn't give a crap when the Cole was bombed.
But when the American public suddenly finds their butts are in danger, they suddenly give a crap. I know precisely how your friend feels.
I also wonder if he actually is a vietnam vet. There are many out there who say they are but who never set foot there.
Got to reply #24 and did not need to read any further because you said what I wanted to say, only better, beekeeper. Don't think I need to qualify it in order to have an opinion, but I served two tours in Nam, 67 and 69-70.
We can be a "remnant". There are always people who know how blessed we are, and who appreciate how much has been given by our fathers, husbands, and sons to make the whole mess that is America hang together.
We have to believe that, no matter what, there will always be those who understand, who "know". Just as there are those who are clueless, who take it all for granted, who think that life is easy, who assume that someone else will do the "dirty work", who seek the "wide and easy" way through life, there are those of us who know differently.
We may seem to be a voiceless minority, but we are there. The blue are always with us. They have been around since time began. They are the whisper of the devil, and we who are red resist them with all our might.
Down deep in our souls, it doesn't matter what they say, or how loudlt they say it, and we know that. History will be the judge.
God, please bless all who served our country with honor and dignity. Please curse all who do not do your will.
It is our job to forgive those who have trespassed against us, lest we be judged for our tresspasses. It is God's job to figure out who the trangressors are, and I do think He is capable of the task.
I don't disagree with what you said but I have a small bone to pick. So many times, when there is loss of life, people tend to mention "Women and Children" as thought it makes a difference. In the disaster there were a lot of casualities who were just plain ordinary Men. That fact doesn't make it better or worse, and I think the same can be said for the loss of Women and Children. Why can't it just be "To show no sympathy for fellow Americans murdered on September 11......?"
Real Americans, bled and prayed with us.. and welcomed us home.
I can not believe that any warrior, who walked in the Valley of Death - would not be heartbroken that Americans were killed by nutcases on our soil...
I have not had the heart to kill anything or anyone in more that 35 years...... I'm over that now!
Semper Fi
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