support our troops.





i don't know if the country has come to an agreement as far as the definition of this term. or if we've come to an agreement on anything really.

(forewarning: this is a fairly long and rambling post).


the woman, cindy sheehan i believe her name is, that has been protesting at bush's texas ranch (and who recently had to leave for CA to take care of her ailing mother) is an interesting news piece. she's giving a mouthpiece to people who are angry and who think that bringing home the troops means withdrawing today and everyone flies home tomorrow is a viable option. i'm sorry, (well not really, these are my opinions and i'm entitled to them) but she's confusing me a bit. her son willingly joined the military. he wasn't under a draft, and he went in to join and serve in the US Military (Marines, if I remember correctly). as far as i can remember, voluntarily joining to serve in the military does bring with it a possibility of serving in a war, or other threatening zone, and with that comes the very real possibility of harm to life, even as far as death. i'm pretty sure that people are aware of that going in to the military. so, i would think that their parents would be aware of that as well.

i am not saying that i cheerlead the loss of life to soldiers and others in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and anywhere else that life has been lost in this war on terrorism as it has been dubbed. quite the opposite; i, like many in this country, pray every day for the troops, especially for my boyfriend, whom i hope returns safely, and with whom i hope to spend the rest of my life.

the woman's grief is completely understandable- if she wasn't fully of grief over the fact that her 19 year old son was killed, then there would be a lot to worry about.

but if she (and other protestors) really want things to change-- i'm not sure that setting up camp and talking to news crews is really getting something done. if she wants to improve the state of this country and of humanity, i think protesting with words alone is the last thing to do.

i am curious as to what people think troops are doing over in Iraq. i am curious to know what people in this country think is really happening over there-- what it is that we are fighting and what it is exactly that different troops are "doing" over there.

isn't there anything more productive she can do in her son's memory than bitch to the administration?

how would we as a country handle it if someone started getting noticed for protesting to end poverty now, and actually believed that poverty would be something that we could change before the weekend ends? changes in humanity and it's condition don't take place overnight.

i hear a lot of bitching about how the war is being handled. i'd love to hear some truly viable options as to how YOU would handle it if you were president of the USA. if things changed today, and you were made president for a day, or a week, how would you do specific things differently? i'm not talking about broad generalizations. i mean, with all this bitching about "bring the troops home now" (which, trust me, i would love if my man was home now but i don't believe that's a viable option) how do you propose we do that? and tell me, what do you think are the ramifications of bringing the troops home immediately? how would the condition of the iraqi people change if all of our boys and gals were home next week?what do you think they are fighting? and fighting for?

if this is how Cindy Sheehan needs to work out her grief, then i say, work it out. it sucks- no parent wants their kid to die before they do; it's just not natural. but how much has she really researched as far as all that the bush administration (w's and his father's) and the clinton administration have to say about all that is going on in the middle east? with the Taliban? with terrorist cells? with bin Laden? does no one remember the day nearly four years ago when thousands of people were killed on American soil by hijacked planes?

i don't believe the US is a great and loving peacemaker. don't think that i am saying that. i think we've done some pretty assinine, messed up things throughout history. i'm pretty sure we'll continue to screw up some things in the future. and i'm sure we're screwing some things up now. but how educated is the american public about everything involving the current war? i know i'm not nearly educated enough, and i won't pretend to be. just because i've read a few news reports and declassified government documents, i know i don't have the whole picture.

but i want to know more- about what i can do right now. and i don't want to do it on impulse or emotion. i want to do it out of Love.