Maybe Vetwife had a point [View All]

[liberalhistorian]

First of all, I don't believe she was a troll. She genuinely believed in a lot of the issues we believe in. She also happened to have some more conservative viewpoints as well. I'd wager that there are many of us who aren't totally liberal on every singe issue, also.

But here's where we might do well to listen to her. She is absolutely correct when she talks about what we owe to veterans. We don't have to be pro-war to recognize what soldiers go through and what veterans have gone through to ensure that we have the freedom to sit here at our computers expressing ourselves freely, particularly if it's in disagreement with our leaders and their policies. We may not like the fact that violence and killing have bought us this freedom, God knows I don't, but unfortunately in the real world that's the way it is and always has been. I hate that and you hate that, but it's reality. And that doesn't mean we shouldn't recognize what veterans have suffered on our behalf because of that.

If you doubt that, go and watch the first hour of Saving Private Ryan, think of the Nazis and what they were doing and would have done to us and the rest of the world had they not been stopped and what had to be done in order to stop them, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Think of the Civil War, with all its violence and killing and blood and suffering and horrendous casualties, and think of how it was fought to keep the nation together and to end slavery and think of what would have happened without it. Think of the American Revolution and all of its death and blood and suffering, why it had to be fought, and what would have happened had it not been fought. No one hates war more than I, but we also have to be realistic and recognize that that is how we have gained and maintained our freedom, including that of expressing our disagreements with our government on this message board. We often let our opposition to this particular war in Iraq blind us to that fact, and we need to recognize that. THAT is what she was trying to say.

And we would do well to recognize our own hypocrisy in that we rightfully bash those on the right, including Bush, who trash those veterans who disagree in the slightest with them and who don't toe the party line, as well as their hypocrisy in cutting veterans benefits, forcing the reserves to stay longer or extending their duties, Bush not attending one single military funeral and not allowing the media to photograph the coffins of returning casualties, etc., but guess what? We often do the same thing to those who don't toe OUR line or who don't denounce the Iraqi war. That is also what she was trying to say.

Note that when I say that, I'm not talking about those soldiers accused of or convicted of prisoner abuse or other similar atrocities. This is just something we really need to consider.