Posted on 04/06/2003 6:37:00 PM PDT by Eala
``I support our troops, I just don't support the war.''
You're hearing that more and more from many people who oppose the war. It's a rhetorical blanket, worn for protection lest people question their patriotism. But it doesn't always sound sincere and it occasionally sounds absurd.
For instance, during last Tuesday's Pearl Jam concert in Denver, lead singer Eddie Vedder rapped the war in Iraq while assuring the crowd ``I support the troops.'' But near the show's end he took a mask of President Bush -- the Commander in Chief of the armed forces -- impaled it on a microphone, slammed the microphone down on the stage and stomped on it. I wonder how ``the troops'' would react if Vedder pulled that stunt in front of them overseas?
For more than half a year, America had what America needs more of -- robust debates about an important policy matter. Was Saddam Hussein so serious a threat to America and the world that we should force him to give up genocidal weapons even if it meant war?
Good arguments were made on both sides, and while that debate raged, protests, marches and demonstrations made perfect sense. This is, after all, America. But once the policy was decided, and young Americans were called into action to risk their lives on the battlefield, the protesters should either have closed ranks behind the president (like Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton did), or stood respectfully on the sidelines.
The debate was over and the war was on with real lives hanging in the balance. Saying ``I support the troops but I oppose the war'' at a time like this simply makes no sense, logically. What do you think the troops in the Persian Gulf are doing?
If the war goes badly, you can bet there will be new debates on whether to bring the troops home. But this war by any account other than Saddam's isn't going badly. It has been an astounding success so far. Never has the American military moved so far so fast with so few casualties. America and Great Britain are not only winning the war, they are making military history.
That's one reason the anti-war movement is shrinking. But as mainstream liberals stand down, the left wing core of the anti-war movement has been exposed, and it's not a pretty sight. Three Saturday's ago, history was made in Bellevue when the largest demonstration in the city's history took place -- 5,000 people by police estimates -- to support the troops. American flags were everywhere. The mood was upbeat, patriotic, ebullient.
On that same day, about 3,000 anti-war protesters marched sullenly in downtown Seattle to the Jackson Federal Building. If you watched the news and read the next day's papers, you found out that 18 arrests were made, while anti-war leaders complained that the police were intimidating them by wearing riot gear and not letting them block traffic (they had no permit).
But here is what you didn't hear or read. The protesters closest to the police lines repeatedly tried to provoke physical confrontations. The cops were spat on - some of them dozens of times. That's a crime, but police were told by their superiors not to arrest anyone for doing it. So they kept doing it.
Black officers were called the ``N'' word, again, repeatedly. Other minority and female officers were singled out for especially ugly slurs, such as an Hispanic officer being called a ``race traitor.'' All this coming from people who call themselves ``progressives'' and ``peace activists.'' Amazingly this got zero press attention even though the press was there. And there was no criticism or condemnation of their behavior by any Seattle city official or politician.
A dirty little secret has been exposed. The core of this movement isn't anti-war; it is anti-American. And its leaders are hateful.
They hate George W. Bush, they hate free enterprise, they hate middle-America -- especially the suburbs -- they hate the cops and most of all they hate having to follow rules they don't want to follow. They have the same attitude toward America that an unruly 14-year old has toward his parents: automatic, knee jerk hostility.
Principled, patriotic liberals should start denouncing this extremism in their own ranks. At the very least stop calling them ``peace protesters.'' Not when it takes police in riot gear to keep the peace at their protests.
John Carlson is founder of Washington Policy Center and can be heard daily from 3-6 p.m. on radio station KVI-570. His column appears every other Sunday. Readers can contact him via e-mail at jcarlson@fisher radio.com.
What have you done that is of consequence in the larger scheme of life?
The Heussein Doctrine Unfolds!!!
Forces have changed our society from the family oriented 50s to what we have have now - death by "diversity." And this has leaked into our churches as well. Recently I attended an "informal" service at my old family church. The two children in the fron pew were taking the bulletins and turning them into paper airplanes. I learned that they were the CHILDREN of the pastor! In addition, when people's children couldn't see the choir when we stood to sing parents had them STAND on the velvet pew cushions. And the talking! When I attended as a child, getting to attend grown-up services was a privledge. You did NOT act discourteously. The truth is, you must find a church which fits you. And sometimes, you grow out of one into another. May you find yours, Starfire. :)
I've never thought of it that way, but I believe you may have a point there. My mother's father was very abusive, and my mother is a virulent, hate-filled leftist. On the other hand, I do not know my father, and I do not hate, nor am I a leftist. (Of course, taking the father out of the picture in no way guarantees a conservative child--it just worked out that way in my case.)
That depends on how one goes about opposing the war, I suppose. First of all, I think this line is a bunch of bullsh!t double-speak intended to deflect criticism away from the anti-war types. If you oppose the war by going out and protesting while the soldiers are fighting and dying then that is not supporting the troops. Protesters in the streets and celebrities and politicians using their access to the media to criticise the war effort are giving comfort to the enemy our troops are fighting against.
Look at what happened in Vietnam: According to remarks in the book by General Vo Nguyen Giap (Commanding General of the North Vietnamese Army) and also by Bui Tin who served on the General Staff, the Tet Offensive was considered by Hanoi to have been a failure and they were considering a conditional surrender, but the news reports from the U.S. proclaiming it a loss for the U.S. forces coupled with the protests in the streets gave the North Vietnamese the belief that they could hold on and wait for the U.S. to lose the will to fight. History proved them right. Over 20,000 U.S. soldiers died from that point until the end of the war -- how many would have lived if maybe, just maybe, the U.S. at home and abroad had showed more resolve and unity behind the war effort and the North Vietnamese had agreed to a surrender in 1968?
A dirty little secret has been exposed. The core of this movement isn't anti-war; it is anti-American. And its leaders are hateful.
They hate George W. Bush, they hate free enterprise, they hate middle-America -- especially the suburbs -- they hate the cops and most of all they hate having to follow rules they don't want to follow. They have the same attitude toward America that an unruly 14-year old has toward his parents: automatic, knee jerk hostility.
Seems to say it all!
I have never, and will never, protested in the streets with the deranged, unwashed, drugged up, filthy, socialist pond scum, college sophomores and "entertainers" that hate America. As I said, don't lump me in with that bunch.
My protestations are not against the troops, or the country. On the contrary, I object because I don't want American Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors sent to die for someone else's war, where America has nothing to gain. The meaningless loss of American lives is a crime, in my book.
As far as what I do, I own my own business, so an "8 to 5" job is a myth. I do facilities planning for the military (primarily the Army, but have worked with the Air Force a lot, and some with the Navy). I take great pride in helping the Army spend its resources wisely, ensuring our troops and their families have top-notch facilities so they can train, work, live and play.
I fully recognize who works so hard to ensure these freedoms; it's the reason I love my job so much.
I refuse, however, to cloak stupidity and slavish adherence to a political party in patriotism. Patriotism is doing what is best for the country; it is not being a lemming to a figurehead. Especially in this country, where patriotism means so much more than in others.
I would ask you to review anything I've written and find where I've had anything negative to say about the troops or the job they are doing. You will find nothing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.