Quote:
Originally Posted by angryssg
In my personal opinion I believe that you can support the troops without supporting the cause. Just as many Americans are torn over whether or not this war is just, so are the soldiers on the ground. They share the many diverse opinions of those backgrounds that they hail from. Unfortunately, it is not their decision which battles they will or will not fight. They are given a mission and must perform their duties regardless of their political position on the matter. To crucify someone for not supporting the war is absurd, so long as they support the troops.
Even if they do not support the troops, it is their right. It's not one that I necessarily agree with, but it is theirs all the same.
My position: I was a soldier, I was there, I support the troops, and I support the war. I had military buddies that didnt agree with the war just as I have civilian aquaintences now who do not support it. The one thing that they all have in common is that they do support the troops.
Support Defined: Many people believe that support means that you must go above and beyond to aid those men and women. In actuality support shows itself in many other facets. Lighting a candle when a servicemenber falls. Welcoming one home with a simple hello as you pass them down the street. Placing a yellow ribbon on a tree or a magnet on your car. Treating them like a human being or even offering a discount at your establishment. The easiest way though, is to just be polite. That action right there speaks louder than all the words you can express, and provides a larger bounty than any care package you could ever send. Do not feel guilty if you feel that you havent lived up to the support "quota".
But they do love those care packages.
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This is well stated. The thing we must avoid, regardless of our opinions on the war, is what happened after Vietnam. After Vietnam many returning soldiers faced either 1.) open hostility from SOME who oppossed the war or 2.) awkward silence from those who generally supported the war but were tired of the whole thing by then. These attitudes were pervasive in the culture for several years. I could go into the whole "Deer Hunter" thing, blah, blah. Anyone my age or older who was paying attention knows what I mean. The military and military people were not widely treated with respect again until the early 1980s or so. I remember my father seeing an airline advert that featured a young soldier going home or something (this was in the 80s) and commenting on the fact that it represented a real shift in popular sentiment or at least the sentiments of Mad Avenue at the time. The fact that no one feels comfortable blaming the soldiers is some progress at least.