30.6.05
Beware these people!
US soldiers and prospective armed forces volunteers: the question of "support" for US troops in Iraq has been raised. It has been raised, by people who think war is a wonderful enterprise, above the heads of anyone who brings up any kind of objections to or dissents from the US's policies in Iraq and in the "war on terror". But who are these people who claim to be supporting soldiers from their comfortable, middle- and upper-class homes in the United States, while you carry out the president's orders far away? What does their support consist of?
A group of them - including, most unfortunately, some of America's future leaders - had a convention recently. Here are the people you are fighting for; here are the people who will be sending you or people you know abroad in a few years' time to fight another war for their positions:
In interviews, more than a dozen [College Republican] conventiongoers explained why it is important that they stay on campus while other, less fortunate people their age wage a bloody war in Iraq. They strongly support the war, they told me, but they also want to enjoy college life and pursue interesting careers.
...
I chatted for a while with Collin Kelley, a senior at Washington State... Kelley told me he's "sick and tired of people saying our troops are dying in vain" and added, "This isn't an invasion of Iraq, it's a liberation--as David Horowitz said." When I asked him why he was staying on campus rather than fighting the good fight, he rubbed his shoulder and described a nagging football injury from high school. Plus, his parents didn't want him to go. "They're old hippies," Kelley said.
If young master Kelley really thought this war was worth it and was vital for America's security, wouldn't he tell his parents that he respectfully disagreed with them and go and sign up - most especially if they were a pair of old dirty hippies? What better way to rebel?
By the time I encountered Cory Bray, a towering senior from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, the beer was flowing freely. "The people opposed to the war aren't putting their asses on the line," Bray boomed from beside the bar. Then why isn't he putting his ass on the line? "I'm not putting my ass on the line because I had the opportunity to go to the number-one business school in the country," he declared, his voice rising in defensive anger, "and I wasn't going to pass that up."
Like Cheney during Vietnam, Bray has "other priorities" that prevent him from serving in a war he "supports" so much. Did you or your comrades have anything approaching Bray's chance, which you passed up to join the military? Or, like one of my relatives who is currently serving in Iraq, was the military the only opportunity you had to get away from an unbearable situation?
The people who sent you into war trotted out the same lines during Vietnam. And these "supporters", engaging in the same hypocrisy, will be taking their place in the near future. These are your leaders; these are the people who will send you off to die, without ever even considering making your sacrifices - because they don't have to.
Soldiers! Take a good look at the people you fighting for! Take a good look at how these people are "supporting" your service!
US soldiers and prospective armed forces volunteers: the question of "support" for US troops in Iraq has been raised. It has been raised, by people who think war is a wonderful enterprise, above the heads of anyone who brings up any kind of objections to or dissents from the US's policies in Iraq and in the "war on terror". But who are these people who claim to be supporting soldiers from their comfortable, middle- and upper-class homes in the United States, while you carry out the president's orders far away? What does their support consist of?
A group of them - including, most unfortunately, some of America's future leaders - had a convention recently. Here are the people you are fighting for; here are the people who will be sending you or people you know abroad in a few years' time to fight another war for their positions:
In interviews, more than a dozen [College Republican] conventiongoers explained why it is important that they stay on campus while other, less fortunate people their age wage a bloody war in Iraq. They strongly support the war, they told me, but they also want to enjoy college life and pursue interesting careers.
...
I chatted for a while with Collin Kelley, a senior at Washington State... Kelley told me he's "sick and tired of people saying our troops are dying in vain" and added, "This isn't an invasion of Iraq, it's a liberation--as David Horowitz said." When I asked him why he was staying on campus rather than fighting the good fight, he rubbed his shoulder and described a nagging football injury from high school. Plus, his parents didn't want him to go. "They're old hippies," Kelley said.
If young master Kelley really thought this war was worth it and was vital for America's security, wouldn't he tell his parents that he respectfully disagreed with them and go and sign up - most especially if they were a pair of old dirty hippies? What better way to rebel?
By the time I encountered Cory Bray, a towering senior from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, the beer was flowing freely. "The people opposed to the war aren't putting their asses on the line," Bray boomed from beside the bar. Then why isn't he putting his ass on the line? "I'm not putting my ass on the line because I had the opportunity to go to the number-one business school in the country," he declared, his voice rising in defensive anger, "and I wasn't going to pass that up."
Like Cheney during Vietnam, Bray has "other priorities" that prevent him from serving in a war he "supports" so much. Did you or your comrades have anything approaching Bray's chance, which you passed up to join the military? Or, like one of my relatives who is currently serving in Iraq, was the military the only opportunity you had to get away from an unbearable situation?
The people who sent you into war trotted out the same lines during Vietnam. And these "supporters", engaging in the same hypocrisy, will be taking their place in the near future. These are your leaders; these are the people who will send you off to die, without ever even considering making your sacrifices - because they don't have to.
Soldiers! Take a good look at the people you fighting for! Take a good look at how these people are "supporting" your service!
