Support Our Troops...

[vraiblonde]

You still support the players...even if the coach is clueless.

But, even if the coach is clueless, don't you still want your team to win? Still root for them?

 

[vraiblonde]

Just because we have differing opinions on the war, does not mean he doesn't support me in what I'm doing.

Define that. Does he want you to "win"? Does he applaud when you, for instance, gun down an Iraqi insurgent?

What exactly do you mean when you say he "supports" you?

 

[Kerad]

But, even if the coach is clueless, don't you still want your team to win? Still root for them?

Of course. You hope the team wins, you want the players to succeed, despite the poor coaching...the idiot playcalling.

Then you hope the coach gets fired and they get one who knows what he's doing. A coach who knows the best way to utilize the players on the team.

 

[Bustem' Down]

Define that. Does he want you to "win"? Does he applaud when you, for instance, gun down an Iraqi insurgent?

What exactly do you mean when you say he "supports" you?

He supports me in my decision to be in the military, he supports me in doing and fighting for something that I believe in, and in the decisions I make. He may not like the war, but that doesn't mean he will not support me because I believe in it.

I don't believe in God, and I don't believe in the Mormon faith, but I support him in the things he does at church. I'll help him, I don't resent his getting sealed to my stepmother in the Mormon temple. Just because I don't believe in the faith and don't agree with it, doesn't mean I don't support him in doing what he believes.

 

[SkinkTyree]

So do you only support the troops who are fighting in Afghanistan, or the ones in Iraq as well? And what do you mean by "support" them? I don't understand the concept of supporting someone who's doing something you don't agree with.

I support that they were willing to put on a uniform in defense of this country. I hate the concept of war and long for the ever-distant day it is no longer a reality, but as a realist I'm glad we have men and women there in the event we face a real and actual threat to this country.

Now, if they are sent to a task which I believe is not related to the defense of this country, as I feel about Iraq, I voice my opposition to that task. But that task itself is different then the people who are ordered to carry it out.

I think that type of "support" counts as least as much as putting a bumper sticker on my car, don't you?

 

[vraiblonde]

Now, if they are sent to a task which I believe is not related to the defense of this country, as I feel about Iraq, I voice my opposition to that task. But that task itself is different then the people who are ordered to carry it out.

How about the people who voluntarily joined, and re-enlist? You say they're "ordered" to carry out a task, but what if they're completely willing to carry out that task, and have put themselves in a position to *take* those orders? I mean, certainly every kid in America knows we're at war in Iraq. Yet they still sign up to join the military every single day. Do you support them as well?

I think that type of "support" counts as least as much as putting a bumper sticker on my car, don't you?

So far you haven't shown me how you support our troops. Do you have a bumper sticker on your car? Wear red on Fridays?

 

[vraiblonde]

Of course. You hope the team wins, you want the players to succeed, despite the poor coaching...the idiot playcalling.

So, despite your disdain for Coach Bush, you are still rooting for our guys and gals to win this war?

 

[Kerad]

So, despite your disdain for Coach Bush, you are still rooting for our guys and gals to win this war?

Always have been.

 

[chernmax]

And what do you mean by "support" them? I don't understand the concept of supporting someone who's doing something you don't agree with.

Yes, this sounds too much like Marriage...

 

[mehlert74]

How about the people who voluntarily joined, and re-enlist? You say they're "ordered" to carry out a task, but what if they're completely willing to carry out that task, and have put themselves in a position to *take* those orders? I mean, certainly every kid in America knows we're at war in Iraq. Yet they still sign up to join the military every single day. Do you support them as well?


So far you haven't shown me how you support our troops. Do you have a bumper sticker on your car? Wear red on Fridays?

Regardless of when someone joins the military, yes, I will still support them even if I do not agree with the war in IRAQ, we still need our men and women to defend us no matter what our chief i does...somone has to replace those we lost in this war...and because the stradegy plan has failed, because of someone so determined to do something that should not have been our problem at that moment in the first place, does not mean we spit on our troops.

 

[SkinkTyree]

How about the people who voluntarily joined, and re-enlist? You say they're "ordered" to carry out a task, but what if they're completely willing to carry out that task, and have put themselves in a position to *take* those orders? I mean, certainly every kid in America knows we're at war in Iraq. Yet they still sign up to join the military every single day. Do you support them as well?

If they voluntarily do it, that's more than fine with me and I've got nothing against them personally if they feel they are doing the right thing. And furthermore, if they sign up but refuse to go to war, chances are they would be court-martialed for that. And even those soldiers who sign up to serve but refuse an order to go to a particular war, I'll support them to so long as their refusual is out of genuine conscience and not out of sloth or cowardice. Although I'll also believe in that case they would have to face the consequence for that refusal, too.

So far you haven't shown me how you support our troops. Do you have a bumper sticker on your car? Wear red on Fridays?

"Support" isn't a fashion statement. When I've had the privilege to meet a serviceman or servicewoman, I've thanked them for their service to our country. And I'll continue to do that. You don't need to show it to the world what you think to somehow make yourself feel better, you just need to genuinely feel as you do, and let them know it by saying it.

 

[chernmax]

If they voluntarily do it, that's more than fine with me and I've got nothing against them personally if they feel they are doing the right thing. And furthermore, if they sign up but refuse to go to war, chances are they would be court-martialed for that. And even those soldiers who sign up to serve but refuse an order to go to a particular war, I'll support them to so long as their refusual is out of genuine conscience and not out of sloth or cowardice. Although I'll also believe in that case they would have to face the consequence for that refusal, too.




"Support" isn't a fashion statement. When I've had the privilege to meet a serviceman or servicewoman, I've thanked them for their service to our country. And I'll continue to do that. You don't need to show it to the world what you think to somehow make yourself feel better, you just need to genuinely feel as you do, and let them know it by saying it.

I accept your thank you...

 

[SamSpade]

The troops are not the ones calling the shots...they are not there because they decided to go and fight this war. They are there because the President is the Commander In Chief, and he's The Decider. The troops will follow their orders to the best of their abilities no matter which country you put them in....which enemy you tell them to shoot..

See, I'm FAMILIAR with these point of view, even though I completely disagree with it. It's the rationale that led someone like Kerry to participate in a war he despised - claim to be some kind of hero, with a camera crew to document it - and then come home to tell horror stories about the men he saw there.

The premise is, when terrible things happen in war, it's not the fault of the soldiers but of the men who sent them there - because they're not there by choice. They're just following orders (which is not true).

If I was against, say - abortion - I couldn't tell my son who wanted to DO THEM that I supported his decision. I'd still LOVE my son, but I'd still be against him. If he chose to be a LIBERAL, I would love him AND support him - because I don't oppose liberal ideas on moral or philosophical grounds. The biggest naysayers against this war claim they're against it because it is "an illegal and immoral war". If they truly were morally opposed to it, they'd do more than talk out both sides of their mouths.

A huge portion of these men and women serving in Iraq ARE THERE by choice. They may not have been going in - but they've had opportunity to re-enlist and go back - and many have done so. Are you supportive of them, as they deliberately choose to do something you're against? When someone you know choose to go back, do you tell them you support their decision, even though deep inside, you not only believe it's wrong, you are sure it is wrong?

I don't think that's the reason people say "I support the troops but I'm against the war". I think they're caught in a semantical trap. They don't realize that their opposition is not a moral one, but a political one. If you really thought the United States was spreading terror and committing crimes, you would NOT sit still and gripe about it on the Internet. Not if you believed it.

 

[Kerad]

See, I'm FAMILIAR with these point of view, even though I completely disagree with it. It's the rationale that led someone like Kerry to participate in a war he despised - claim to be some kind of hero, with a camera crew to document it - and then come home to tell horror stories about the men he saw there.

The premise is, when terrible things happen in war, it's not the fault of the soldiers but of the men who sent them there - because they're not there by choice. They're just following orders (which is not true).

If I was against, say - abortion - I couldn't tell my son who wanted to DO THEM that I supported his decision. I'd still LOVE my son, but I'd still be against him. If he chose to be a LIBERAL, I would love him AND support him - because I don't oppose liberal ideas on moral or philosophical grounds. The biggest naysayers against this war claim they're against it because it is "an illegal and immoral war". If they truly were morally opposed to it, they'd do more than talk out both sides of their mouths.

A huge portion of these men and women serving in Iraq ARE THERE by choice. They may not have been going in - but they've had opportunity to re-enlist and go back - and many have done so. Are you supportive of them, as they deliberately choose to do something you're against? When someone you know choose to go back, do you tell them you support their decision, even though deep inside, you not only believe it's wrong, you are sure it is wrong?

I don't think that's the reason people say "I support the troops but I'm against the war". I think they're caught in a semantical trap. They don't realize that their opposition is not a moral one, but a political one. If you really thought the United States was spreading terror and committing crimes, you would NOT sit still and gripe about it on the Internet. Not if you believed it.

People are not enlisting and reenlisting to go and fight in Iraq. They're signing up to serve in the Unites States military. Your military service is bigger than the current conflict. You don't get to pick and choose which conflicts you "soldier" in, and then decide to sit out the ones you may not agree with. If you want to serve your country in the military, you serve wherever you're sent.

I never understood/supported Bush's decision to focus on Iraq when there was still so much unfinished in our pursuit of Bin Laden, Al-Queda, etc....but that didn't keep me from doing my job during "Iraqi Freedom"...and I felt damn good about doing my job well.

Also, on a related note, you may notice when a serviceman is asked why they stay in, or want to go back, many of them respond by saying it's because they want to be there for their fellow servicemen. You hear vets say, in the end, they're not fighting for their country or for "freedom"...they're fighting for each other.

 

[forestal]

Apparently this idea has been around since 2005, and it's the first time many of us have heard of it.

I guess it's cheaper than buying a magnet, but just as pretentious.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/redfriday.asp

 

[forestal]

Really? So why is it necessary for the "Stop Loss" order, if so many of our soldiers are staying in, or coming back?

Also, on a related note, you may notice when a serviceman is asked why they stay in, or want to go back, many of them respond by saying it's because they want to be there for their fellow servicemen. You hear vets say, in the end, they're not fighting for their country or for "freedom"...they're fighting for each other.

 

[forestal]

Apparently the Army has had to reach further toward the bottom of the barrel to keep up quotas.

Lower Standards

How about the people who voluntarily joined, and re-enlist? You say they're "ordered" to carry out a task, but what if they're completely willing to carry out that task, and have put themselves in a position to *take* those orders? I mean, certainly every kid in America knows we're at war in Iraq. Yet they still sign up to join the military every single day. Do you support them as well?


So far you haven't shown me how you support our troops. Do you have a bumper sticker on your car? Wear red on Fridays?

 

[mehlert74]

Apparently this idea has been around since 2005, and it's the first time many of us have heard of it.

I guess it's cheaper than buying a magnet, but just as pretentious.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/redfriday.asp

Whether you red or not really isn't the point to me...it's the point that our fellow americans, need to realize that the support for our troops is important. I realize that the wearing red idea isn't going to work. However, this post is getting attention and people are speaking out. That is what is important to me.

 

[forestal]

Hey, I have an idea...Put on some rainbow tie-dye apparel. That way everybody can support everybody. Problem solved.

We tried this in our office over a year ago when the first wear red on Friday's started circulating. Unfortunately since so many other people at our firm wore red for other reasons it just didn't catch on so we all sport support the troops magnets on our vehicles, at least by doing this we show our support everyday, not just Fridays...


More background info from snopes, click on below link:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/redfriday.asp

 

[mehlert74]

Hey, I have an idea...Put on some rainbow tie-dye apparel. That way everybody can support everybody. Problem solved.

if you have nothing intelligent to say, don't say it at all, you obviously are not getting the point.