[Burkeman1]

You amoral Coward? How dare you not want to sacrifice your life or the life of a son to spreading Democracy in other lands? You must be a traitor, commie, or Islamic spy if you don't follow the gubmint blueprint demanded of you!

[sheltonmac]

I think the faulty premise is that service is looked upon as "noble" or as a "moral obligation" regardless of the reason or the cause. Those who went along without question in every unconstitutional military conflict in U.S. history (e.g., Bosnia) are considered "noble" because they "did their duty." Those who refuse to take part, whether on moral or constitutional grounds, are considered unpatriotic cowards who don't deserve to live. It seems people will think or say anything to set their minds at ease.

The problem is that no one ever bothers to stop and question why our sons and daughters are dying. Why did we fight in places like Vietnam and Somalia? How were we made safer? Were U.S. troops really defending our freedoms in those situations? Since our country continued to flourish despite being unsuccessful in those conflicts, does that mean they died in vain? These are tough questions, but they are ones that need to be asked - otherwise we may never see an end to it.

[Pahuanui]

How dare you not want to sacrifice your life or the life of a son to spreading Democracy in other lands?

Yawn.

Please supply one tangible bit of evidence that anything we are currently doing in either Iraq or Afghanistan is 'spreading democracy'.