[Grand Old Partisan]

That "enemy vessel" was a ship in the United States Navy, as was the ship those terrorists rammed with a speedboat in Yemen.

[Rocket1968]

I don't want to broaden this to a discussion of the Civil War, but will say this, the main issue was states rights vs the power of the federal government. Slavery was the route cause, but the southern states resented the expanding role of Washington in their affairs.

I do not condone slavery. I agree that this issue was so important that it was probably inevitable that conflict would occur. In that context alone, the U.S. Navy was the "enemy" to the seceeding states, thus my description.

My point was to focus on the historical event as a precedent. We should give these events the emphasis they deserve, whether we agree with the event or not.

As an aside, there is a growing concern in this country about the expanding reach of the federal government. We are assaulted almost daily with restrictions of our freedom. We are becoming a very polarized country. Look at the red states vs the blue states and ask yourself if another Civil War is possible?

That is why, I think it is important to remember those individuals who took a stand. Whether it was right or wrong can be interpreted in many ways. What we shouldn't do is to dismiss their heroism because we do agree with the stance they took.