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["Lisa K. V. Perry" <lkvp AT floydva.net>]

Gene GeRue wrote:

> Reading this writer's position of not being supportive of our troops in Iraq 
> is more than unsettling. (big snip)  Life used to be much simpler.
>
> Joel Stein:
> Warriors and wusses 

This line made me pause:
"Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them 
overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to
the hawks who sent them there — and who might one day want to send them 
somewhere else."

This line made me grin:
"Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn't going to pick up 
on the subtleties of a parade for just
service in an unjust war."

Important points from the article (imho):
"But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know 
you're not going to be fending off invasions
from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting 
tool of American imperialism, for better or worse."

"All I'm asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: 
hospitals, pensions, mental health and a
safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades."

Thanks for posting this article. It's an unpopular, and as you said 
Gene, but important opinion for the author to have shared. I have not 
supported the war and the third anniversary is fast approaching. It's a 
bold stand to take to say you flat out don't support the troops. It's 
one thing to privately think it or to quietly converse with a friend 
that you don't believe troops should be there and you have a hard time 
supporting them for that reason. If overheard, you may be thought of in 
your small community as a cold-hearted unhumanitarian. I force myself to 
listen to stories of deceased soldiers on NPR and to look at their faces 
as they scroll by on PBS. I haven't known anyone yet that has died, but 
I have driven through or lived in their towns or know someone who does, 
and some of the people have been my age (43). This reminds me that 
people are dying every darn day for something that I can not support. 
Maybe there need to be more Joel Steins who speak up and say what's 
really on their minds. CodePink has a slogan: Stop the Next War Now.

Lisa