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Yes, we should all reflect on this.
I live on street that is named for a young man from here who died in WWII; three other streets are named for the other three teens who died in that war. I'd never thought much about them until my mom pointed out that they grew up during the depression, hungry and wanting, were sent to war right out of high school and never go to realize the abundance that the rest of our country experienced.
My neighbor survived the Bataan Death March. When debate springs up over whether we were right or wrong to have dropped the bomb he becomes passionate. He says those who say we were wrong didn't see what he saw.
My cousin left a leg in Bosnia in 1999. He was there to defeat Milosevic, an evil man by any standards. He's proud of the battles he fought there, even though his injury occured during his "peace-keeping" tour.
My dear friend, Mike, lost his son (who went to school with one of my sons) just a few months ago in an ambush in Iraq. I saw him a few weeks ago and he was obviously sad but talked about how proud he was of his son. He mentioned another friend who recently lost a son to a drug overdose and commented that he's grateful that his own child died honorably. As the mother of a drug addict, I understood that so well.
We used to fight communism at every corner, in every country. We beleived in liberty and the rights of the people. Our soldiers have died fighting for the liberation of many countries. This war in Iraq is not that much different. People are oppressed and we, as the richest, most powerful nation, have an obligation to step in.
I suppose there are those who believe we have done more harm than good, that we're there "for the oil," that we should take care of our own people here at home. I can't speak of the oil, I believe we get most of ours from South America. As for the harm we've done or our own problems, I just know that defeating Hitler had nothing to do with our own economic depression and though lives were lost, we did more good than harm.
I know VietNam is still controversial but Iraq is nothing like that at this point. If you want to compare Viet Nam to something (not that you did), compare it to our War on Drugs. It's a losing battle that's gone on far too long with a death toll that is beyond counting.
Please understand, I have 5 sons so if this war continues, the draft could be reinstated and one of my boys could be called up. It may seem like a long shot but to a mother, it is all too real. I'm not anxious to send any of my kids into battle. However, I know that there are dangers today that didn't exist when I was young. I know that any of my kids could fall victim to these dangers. If I must lose one of my children, I pray that it is in a noble and honorable endeavor such as fighting for the liberty of the opressed. Perhaps my views on the US involvement in Iraq is colored by my need to believe that we are there for good reason, just in case one of my own boys ends up there.
Sorry for the length of this. I just wanted you and others to understand that many of us who support the war have nothing to gain from it financially. We may be naive but some of us still believe in the ideals of our forefathers, that all people are entitled to certain inalienable rights - and that those who have them should help others to achieve them.
Okay, I'll slink away and go learn more about XOOPS now.....
Marisa
