I just had the war come up and smack me on the arse. Fortunately… - rants and ramblings of utter randomness — LiveJournal
Posted on 2003.26.09 at 10:14
Soundtrack: Luka Bloom - I Am Not at War With Anyone
I just had the war come up and smack me on the arse. Fortunately that's all it was. patchfire linked me to this news story. My best friend's son M is in the 173rd Airborne, and has been in Northern Iraq for some time. I couldn't call my friend to ask her if M was all right, so I had to wait for my mom to get to work (she had already left). It was an hour of sheer panic, in which time I called my sister, who also wasn't home. I finally got my mom, who told me that M had left Iraq a couple of days ago.
God. I'm relieved as hell, but what about the poor mother, spouse, child, friend, lover, whatever of the soldier who was killed? They're not relieved. They're devastated. The pat answer they'll get to their "why" is that this person's life wasn't wasted because they were serving their country. True enough, and if I were in such a postion in, say, WWII, I might feel comforted. But now? No, because the country in question has a leader who wants to be Cowboy to the World. It's just. wrong Sure this person served his or her country. Sure he or she should be commended for it. It's the leaders who sit and dole out death that should be condemned. The blood of this soldier, and all the others, is on their hands. I'm not talking about whether Saddam Hussein deserved it. Sure he did. What I don't understand is why TPTB thought we had the right to play cowboy. *headdesk*
Bloody unnecessary war. And yes, that's a redundant statement.
I love my country more now than I ever have, probably. The US was ostensibly founded on dissent and the rights of individuals (well, white men of property, but that's another rant), but in the current climate, if one disagrees with TPTB, well, then, that person must not be patriotic. I think I am patriotic. I just don't think that it's My Country, Right or Wrong, is all.
Thanks to maybethemoon for the music link. This song is an anthem-in-the-making, that's for sure.
undone27 at 2003-09-26 08:49 (UTC) ()
And JFK started the Vietnam War because Kruschev personally insulted him.
The multinationals already have their billion dollar contracts approved to start rebuilding what we blew up, oil will be drilled, and Iraq will be our staging ground for what will be the REAL next World War- against Saudi Arabia.
primroseburrows at 2003-09-26 09:03 (UTC) ()
*shudder* You may be right.
peacey at 2003-09-26 11:05 (UTC) ()
Question: which would you prefer: we go meet our enemy on their turf or let them come to us and let God knows how many civilians die? When the guys and gals in the military sign up, they know that they're basically putting their lives on the line. They may make it through their stint - and the odds are tremendously in their favor that they will - or they may not. *This is part of their job.* It's *awful* when they die in the line of duty, but it is a risk they take. However, when I walk out my door in the morning and go to work, I have made no commitment that may cost me my life, yet that's exactly what happened to the innocents that died on 9/11. This war was coming - whether it was sooner under our control or later when and where the bad guys wanted it. You have to look past all the "cowboy" metaphors which are oh so shallow and look deeper. Sure big business white collar crooks have their fingers in the pie too, but ultimately, the choice to go in under our own volition and take the fight to them was the right choice.
primroseburrows at 2003-09-26 17:13 (UTC) ()
Re: Here's the thing.....
Okay, here's my opinion: we didn't "meet the enemy", we staged a pre-emptive strike. There's a big difference in my mind.
I've never questioned, that the men and women who serve in the military are any less than heroes who have risked everything to serve their country. It's the leaders I question. And I do it a lot, the questioning. I don't do shallow metaphors without a lot of reading and listening and talking and processing. I believe George Bush is a cowboy at heart. I don't know how I feel about the war in Afghanistan. I have problems with any war, but in the current state of things they're going to happen. Afghanistan and Iraq, Saddam and 9/11 aren't the same thing. Yep, there are probably Al Quaeda cells in Iraq. There are some in the US, as well. To me, it's not a justification to attack. There are plenty of other tyrants out there as bad or worse than Saddam, but we're not attacking them. We have an agenda in the Middle East, and it's not all about 9/11; in fact, a lot of it was set up a long time before then. Not to mention that the President has admitted that he wasn't entirely truthful in the presentation of the reasons for going to Iraq in the first place.
I do think Bush is a cowboy, and maybe the metaphor is overused, but my reason for using it is not. I'm not a knee-jerk liberal, honey, you know that. I read, I watch, I listen, I cry. I'm going to try like hell to vote him out of office. I do love my country, very much, and that's why I'm going to use my right to vote to try to create change. Because right now, I'm kinda scared.
Mostly, I'm hella glad that my young soldier friend is no longer in Iraq. Thanks for praying for him, lovey. I just hope he doesn't have to go back.
I just had the war come up and smack me on the arse. Fortunately… - rants and ramblings of utter randomness — LiveJournal
Posted on 2003.26.09 at 10:14
Soundtrack: Luka Bloom - I Am Not at War With Anyone
I just had the war come up and smack me on the arse. Fortunately that's all it was. patchfire linked me to this news story. My best friend's son M is in the 173rd Airborne, and has been in Northern Iraq for some time. I couldn't call my friend to ask her if M was all right, so I had to wait for my mom to get to work (she had already left). It was an hour of sheer panic, in which time I called my sister, who also wasn't home. I finally got my mom, who told me that M had left Iraq a couple of days ago.
God. I'm relieved as hell, but what about the poor mother, spouse, child, friend, lover, whatever of the soldier who was killed? They're not relieved. They're devastated. The pat answer they'll get to their "why" is that this person's life wasn't wasted because they were serving their country. True enough, and if I were in such a postion in, say, WWII, I might feel comforted. But now? No, because the country in question has a leader who wants to be Cowboy to the World. It's just. wrong Sure this person served his or her country. Sure he or she should be commended for it. It's the leaders who sit and dole out death that should be condemned. The blood of this soldier, and all the others, is on their hands. I'm not talking about whether Saddam Hussein deserved it. Sure he did. What I don't understand is why TPTB thought we had the right to play cowboy. *headdesk*
Bloody unnecessary war. And yes, that's a redundant statement.
I love my country more now than I ever have, probably. The US was ostensibly founded on dissent and the rights of individuals (well, white men of property, but that's another rant), but in the current climate, if one disagrees with TPTB, well, then, that person must not be patriotic. I think I am patriotic. I just don't think that it's My Country, Right or Wrong, is all.
Thanks to maybethemoon for the music link. This song is an anthem-in-the-making, that's for sure.
undone27 at 2003-09-26 08:49 (UTC) ()
And JFK started the Vietnam War because Kruschev personally insulted him.
The multinationals already have their billion dollar contracts approved to start rebuilding what we blew up, oil will be drilled, and Iraq will be our staging ground for what will be the REAL next World War- against Saudi Arabia.
primroseburrows at 2003-09-26 09:03 (UTC) ()
*shudder* You may be right.
peacey at 2003-09-26 11:05 (UTC) ()
Question: which would you prefer: we go meet our enemy on their turf or let them come to us and let God knows how many civilians
 die? When the guys and gals in the military sign up, they know that they're basically putting their lives on the line. They may make it through their stint - and the odds are tremendously in their favor that they will - or they may not. *This is part of their job.* It's *awful* when they die in the line of duty, but it is a risk they take. However, when I walk out my door in the morning and go to work, I have made no commitment that may cost me my life, yet that's exactly what happened to the innocents that died on 9/11. This war was coming - whether it was sooner under our control or later when and where the bad guys wanted it. You have to look past all the "cowboy" metaphors which are oh so shallow and look deeper. Sure big business white collar crooks have their fingers in the pie too, but ultimately, the choice to go in under our own volition and take the fight to them was the right choice.
primroseburrows at 2003-09-26 17:13 (UTC) ()
Re: Here's the thing.....
Okay, here's my opinion: we didn't "meet the enemy", we staged a pre-emptive strike. There's a big difference in my mind.
I've never questioned, that the men and women who serve in the military are any less than heroes who have risked everything to serve their country. It's the leaders I question. And I do it a lot, the questioning. I don't do shallow metaphors without a lot of reading and listening and talking and processing. I believe George Bush is a cowboy at heart. I don't know how I feel about the war in Afghanistan. I have problems with any war, but in the current state of things they're going to happen. Afghanistan and Iraq, Saddam and 9/11 aren't the same thing. Yep, there are probably Al Quaeda cells in Iraq. There are some in the US, as well. To me, it's not a justification to attack. There are plenty of other tyrants out there as bad or worse than Saddam, but we're not attacking them. We have an agenda in the Middle East, and it's not all about 9/11; in fact, a lot of it was set up a long time before then. Not to mention that the President has admitted that he wasn't entirely truthful in the presentation of the reasons for going to Iraq in the first place.
I do think Bush is a cowboy, and maybe the metaphor is overused, but my reason for using it is not. I'm not a knee-jerk liberal, honey, you know that. I read, I watch, I listen, I cry. I'm going to try like hell to vote him out of office. I do love my country, very much, and that's why I'm going to use my right to vote to try to create change. Because right now, I'm kinda scared.
Mostly, I'm hella glad that my young soldier friend is no longer in Iraq. Thanks for praying for him, lovey. I just hope he doesn't have to go back.