Well, if we can have a political/social discussion with good reason and intelligence, then here's my take: 1.) I am a Patriot. I love my country and I believe in the IDEAL and American DREAM. Having said that, I have been thoroughly disgusted with "politicians" for a number of years. The politicians don't fight the wars, don't go overseas, don't lose their lives. Yet they act as if they do, they vote for their own pay raises, and take vacations of extravagance while the common man (us) have to worry whether or not we can pay our mortgage or send our kids to school.
2.) War is RARELY about what the politicians would lead us to believe. War is never pretty, it is never anything good. The only reason I supported any war effort was because I believed in our men and women of the armed forces and wanted them to be supported during a difficult time. The last time we participated in a war of ANY real meaning was WW II. While the war in Afghanistan has more merit than Iraq, I still feel it's largely a propaganda war. The timing of this was just a political move by our current "leader" with November elections coming up. He wanted to look like the one to end the war where his predecessor didn't.
3.) The people that really sacrificed and lost anything are the ones like Kevin who were actually there. Doing what they thought was right to protect their country, their families, and what they thought was right.
In the world stage, we have a long way to go. Yes, the U.S. does more and spends more in the areas of relief efforts and support for impovershed countries, but yet we are hated as a government and a people. Our culture is popular around the world-our fashion, our music, our entertainment. Yet, in many countries we are despised as a people. We have a long way to go. I do believe we needed to focus more on Afghanistan and that Iraq was a war of ego-the son succeeding where the father failed, but war of any kind is never pretty. I would really like to see these politicians do something of note that REALLY matters-healthcare, care for our elderly, education for our children (where we are REALLY lacking and the rest of the world is surpassing us), our international trade and goods, our overall economy. There are many things we need to focus on, but the politicians focus on the big, headline grabbing ideas. Our current president is more interested in PR and soundbites than doing any good.
So, let's applaud and support our troops and our veterans. They deserve everything we can give them as they return home, but we can't be blinded by the rhetoric of our "leaders". Remember: our government should fear US, not the other way around.
2.) War is RARELY about what the politicians would lead us to believe. War is never pretty, it is never anything good. The only reason I supported any war effort was because I believed in our men and women of the armed forces and wanted them to be supported during a difficult time. The last time we participated in a war of ANY real meaning was WW II. While the war in Afghanistan has more merit than Iraq, I still feel it's largely a propaganda war. The timing of this was just a political move by our current "leader" with November elections coming up. He wanted to look like the one to end the war where his predecessor didn't.
3.) The people that really sacrificed and lost anything are the ones like Kevin who were actually there. Doing what they thought was right to protect their country, their families, and what they thought was right.
In the world stage, we have a long way to go. Yes, the U.S. does more and spends more in the areas of relief efforts and support for impovershed countries, but yet we are hated as a government and a people. Our culture is popular around the world-our fashion, our music, our entertainment. Yet, in many countries we are despised as a people. We have a long way to go. I do believe we needed to focus more on Afghanistan and that Iraq was a war of ego-the son succeeding where the father failed, but war of any kind is never pretty. I would really like to see these politicians do something of note that REALLY matters-healthcare, care for our elderly, education for our children (where we are REALLY lacking and the rest of the world is surpassing us), our international trade and goods, our overall economy. There are many things we need to focus on, but the politicians focus on the big, headline grabbing ideas. Our current president is more interested in PR and soundbites than doing any good.
So, let's applaud and support our troops and our veterans. They deserve everything we can give them as they return home, but we can't be blinded by the rhetoric of our "leaders". Remember: our government should fear US, not the other way around.
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Originally Posted by Jason Mallory
