Saturday, March 10, 2007
SUPPORT THE TROOPS
The Militant Moderate has always been patriotic. As a young lad, he thrilled to see the flag waving from the pole at the courthouse, the school on the hill, and the campus of the college a short bike ride out of Wilburton. As a seventeen year old recruit volunteer in the U.S. Navy in 1944, he thrilled to the sound of taps in the evening as they lowered our flag on the training base. I love that flag. We still have in our possession the flag which was presented to my mother for my brother, who was killed in war and interred in the military cemetery at Nettuno, Italy.
Some of us still feel chills when we hear the Star Spangled Banner or a spirited renditon of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. We revere our history and the stalwarts who made it. We love freedom in America.
I am angry at George W. Bush for taking my wonderful flag and making a political of it for his misbegotten war. I love the flag, but I do not support his wrongful war. There is nothing patriotic about this Iraq war. Somebody should make tht clear to him, and to that 30% who still support him.
The Militant Moderate must confess that he is troubled by all the ribbon symbols saying "Support the Troops." It seems that there is some trickery at play with that. Somebody is trying to equate supporting the troops with supporting the war. If it is a bad war, then who wants to keep our young men and women in harm's way? Many of us support the troops by clamoring to get them out of Iraq.
I become sick at heart when I hear a soldier in Iraq say, "We are fighting them here to protect our people at home." I am sad when I hear a bereaved parent say, "He died to protect our country." But I become livid when I hear politicians saying, "We are fighting them in the streets of Baghdad, so we will not have to fight them in our streets in America." They know better.
The Bush Iraq misadventure has been a war based upon falsehood and deception. It continues to be so. Some have become obsessed and delusional about it. Some are still trying to equate the war with patriotism. As the saying goes, "That dog won't hunt."
Supporting the troops in a wrongful war demands difficult mental gymnastics. It begs the question: How does one find nobility within and amongst the ignoble? Many democrats are trying to do this. Maybe it is there, but it is difficult to see from here.
The Militant Moderate has come to the conclusion that being a patriot now requires one to oppose the ruin of this beloved country by the reckless actions and policies of George W. Bush and his cronies. This is indeed a patriotic struggle, but not as defined by the ruling business, religious, and political coalition.
This is my country. I will defend it against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. We took that oath before we went off to war in our youth. Now, we need to swear it again.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
