exploit the dead soldier
What a sickening game. Cindy Sheehan is grieving by holding a vigil demanding answers from the president. Her son volunteered for the armed services and was killed in action in Iraq. PResident Bush met with her and offered condolences. A year later Cindy has decided to use the death of her son to grind her political axe, and the complicit media is only too willing to cover one woman as their personal hero.
What does she claim she wants? Answers to questions like, "why are we in Iraq?"
Anyone see a pattern here? President Bush outlines what we are doing, where we are doing it, and why we are doing it.
Detractors and protestors attack the motives or they replace the motives with their own conspiracies, or they cherry pick their favorite one and claim it is the only one. Or they fain complete ignorance, as Jake has, that no one has attempted to explain why we are in Iraq, as though we all collectively didn't notice the 200,000 soldiers in a foreign country and only recently realized they were there, inexplicably. And since we have NO IDEA why they are there, then we must bring them home immediately.....it is intellectually dishonest at least.
What does she claim she wants? Answers to questions like, "why are we in Iraq?"
Anyone see a pattern here? President Bush outlines what we are doing, where we are doing it, and why we are doing it.
Detractors and protestors attack the motives or they replace the motives with their own conspiracies, or they cherry pick their favorite one and claim it is the only one. Or they fain complete ignorance, as Jake has, that no one has attempted to explain why we are in Iraq, as though we all collectively didn't notice the 200,000 soldiers in a foreign country and only recently realized they were there, inexplicably. And since we have NO IDEA why they are there, then we must bring them home immediately.....it is intellectually dishonest at least.
posted by djobe at 11:58 AM
5 Comments:
djobe,
On occassion the comments that readers submit to your posts rile me, but none have angered me quite so much as the owner of the website www.supportandhome.com. Let’s refer to him as “Jake” for this particular rant.
I have so many issues with “Jake”, I don’t know where to start. But for this post let’s talk about his website and it’s mission. (found at http://www.supportandhome.com/ourmission.htm) Come on, Jake. How wishy-washy can you get?? Let me paraphrase for our readers who may not have the time to check out your site right now:
1. You formed a profit-making Limited Liability Company “stemming from the cost of American life and limb through the United States involvement in Iraq.” My goodness, how admirable that you’ve decided that the cost of American life and limb can somehow have a purpose by you selling your stupid magnetic ribbons and hearts to make a little cash on the side.
2. You support our troops but feel they shouldn’t have to do their jobs in Iraq and should come home.
3. You support the war on terrorism, but are against the war in Iraq.
4. You will donate $.50 of each $3.95 sale to three different Veteran charities. Gee, Jake, is that a whole half dollar?
I don’t buy your BS about not knowing “the” reason for us being in Iraq. You're using your question of the war as a marketing tool. Your product is a blatant attempt to turn a profit from a war you state you are against. But it certainly has come in handy for your LLC, huh?
I currently have a soldier in Iraq. He is a reservist with the Missouri National Guard. After spending a year in Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission, returning home in October 2003, he then volunteered to deploy to Iraq in June 2004 to do his job once more as a soldier. He could have come home last month. Instead he volunteered to assist in driving the convoys that deliver supplies to other units for the next 6 months. Reportedly, U.S. convoys are attacked an average of 30 times per week by insurgents using IED’s. (improvised explosive devices)
Do I feel that my yellow ribbon displayed on the back of my vehicle holds an “empty sentiment”, as quoted in a testimony on your site? No, I don’t. The sentiment is strong and it is clear and reads simply SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. Period. Your message of “Support Our Troops But Bring Them Home” is not support at all. How can you support the troops but expect them to just drop everything and come home, leaving a job unfinished? That’s a support statement with a condition. You might as well say, “I support the concept of having the Armed Forces, but gosh, I don’t want them to actually have to go away and fight and do all that yucky stuff.” You don’t support the troops, you are merely making a statement that you support them coming home.
Sure, there are some soldiers who don’t want to be over there. But they are not upholding the ideals and commitment under which they enlisted. When one enlists in the Armed Forces it is for the sole purpose to protect and SERVE. The education and training they receive are a bonus for choosing to protect and serve.
Do I want my boyfriend back home? You bet…because I miss him very much. Do I support him in what he’s doing? Absolutely, because it is the reason he enlisted fifteen years ago. Is he putting himself in extreme danger the next 6 months? Yes he is. But I trust in his belief as an American soldier that, although he may live or die in serving our country, he must serve.
And God willing, he will come home to me safely. But if he doesn’t, I will not be camping out anywhere whining about him being sent to war. It was HIS DECISION to be in the military; he wasn’t drafted.
By the way, I purchased 25 yellow Support Our Troops magnetic ribbons and 25 red, white and blue God Bless America magnetic ribbons for under $1.00 a piece and handed them out to friends, family, co-workers and clients ... free. And the site from where I purchased them donated all profits from their sales.
-L
Hi -L,
Sorry to hear you disagree with our message and that you feel we're not doing what we're doing for the reasons we claim we are. Obviously you are wrong about me and my family's efforts, but from your comments, I doubt you're really interested. And, thanks for the laugh. Your claim that we're doing this to make money on the side is really funny. I appreciate what your boyfriend does and I hope he returns safely.
---JAKE
On yea, -L, the day pigs fly and we make any profit, you'll get every penny to the choice of your charity.
--Jake
Well, you certainly verbalized yourself well in that last retort.
But alas, Jake, I fear we may fall under djobe's post of 4/15/2005 where he states:
"I am simply pointing out that many times when debating anything from social security reform, to American hegemony, to how much wood could a woodchuck chuck, sometimes the opposition willfully misunderstands. It's a rhetorial/logical fallacy, sometimes it is intentional, and sometimes it is ignorance."
In your blog, you say the the Pres has outlined why we are there, what we are doing and where we are doing it. He has done NO such thing. If he would just level with us, maybe those of us who disagreed with him on who the enemy is and where the enemy is (obvoiusly, they weren't in Iraq, they were in Afghanistan) and quit taking five weeks off in Crawford. As much as I abhor Nixon, at least he gave the impression he was doing something, this pres would rather ride a bike. Gas prices at an all time high...did anyone think this was a surprize. He's an oil man, for goodness sake, and he's got a lot of palms to grease. History (if there is one after we are done "transforming" the Middle east) will treat this president poorly. It's just a reflection on his performance.
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