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Posted by Dave Wright I felt concern about your egerness to serve and what I precieved as a connection with patriotism. Many of those who chose not to serve were patriots on the other side of the issue and they didn't cross the line of blaming the soldiers. Honest dicention, bringing up all sides of an issue can be a good thing. As you have expressed so well, there can also be the ugly side we saw during Vietnam. I guess I'm overly sensitive to not painting all decentors with the same brush.
on 9/19/2006, 10:49 am, in reply to "Re: The real superheroes"
68.185.0.17
You're absolutely right about not comdeming the soldier for the war.
--Previous Message--
: I'm not glorifying war in the writing; I'm
: stating that no matter what happens in any
: war, the soldiers who fight in it deserve
: respect.
:
: After our boys came back from Vietnam, they
: were looked upon as humiliating reminders of
: a immoral war. War is hell, and I
: understand that, but blaming soldiers for
: war is like blaming firefighters for fire or
: police officers for crime.
:
: No matter how horrible the war is, nothing
: justifies attacking the soldiers who must
: fight in it, because more than anyone, they
: are the ones who bear the hardest burden in
: it. And until one has experienced that
: burden himself/herself, one has no right to
: judge the soldiers who have experienced that
: burden.
:
: --Previous Message--
: David, I want to send you a book. In it
: you'll see there is no glory in war and for
: some wars, patriotism can appear as just
: blind faith. War is a part of reality, but
: so are good and bad decisions.
:
: You must etablish your own values, but be
: considerate of others who may think
: differently for whatever reason. The same
: information and upbringing is not available
: to everyone, and everyone does not make the
: same choices.
:
: It's OK to disagree with others, but please
: don't become self-righteous. Don't look
: down on others or discount their worth by
: not listening to them.
:
: Here's the paradox. Hating war is almost
: universal, but nearly no one believes it is
: not an option under certain conditions.
: Unilateral peace is not possible.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I'm glad I did it right. I wrote this one
: day after getting tired of all the rants
: against our soldiers. I've also written
: other papers like this, mostly as a way to
: vent my feelings on things like the war,
: soldiers, and people who oppose them both.
:
: You guys who have served our great country
: deserve respect no matter what happens in
: the war, because you go through things none
: of us can ever hope to come close too. I
: hope to one day become a soldier myself, so
: that I can truly call myself a patriotic
: American and a supporter of the troops.
:
: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for
: your service and sacrifice.
: --Previous Message--
: You did good! When the bullets cracked over
: our heads, most of us just thought about
: surviving. We took on the responsibility of
: caring for the guys next to us and didn't
: refuse to go into harm's way time after
: time. Our country asked us to go do a job,
: and we did it the best we could within the
: limits imposed.
:
: There is plenty of right and wrong in every
: war. I only hope those who decide it's
: necessary, understand the cost to those who
: have to fight it, and to those who have to
: live with the results.
:
: --Previous Message--
:
:
:
: WHAT IS A TRUE HERO?
:
:
: All through our life, we have let our
: imagination fool us into thinking what a
: real hero is. We called Superman, who could
: lift mountains and shrug off bullets, a
: hero. We called Batman, who was always
: around when someone was in danger, a hero.
: We called the Flash, who could run at the
: speed of light, a hero. BUT THEY AREN’T
: SUPERHEROES!!!!!!! All these “superheroes”
: had some special power, skill, or ability.
: They could shrug off bullets, shoot lasers,
: fly, and take on villains who were ten times
: what they were. You know what that means.
: It means that when they went into battle,
: they didn’t have to worry about getting
: killed. And whenever they won, they always
: came home to a big celebration.
:
: A person with special powers is not the
: definition of a true superhero. Soldiers
: are true heroes because when they go into
: battle, they are as scared as you can get.
: Soldiers are ordinary men and women who have
: families just like everyone else. They too
: have wives and husbands, they too have
: sisters and brothers, they too have mothers
: and fathers, and they too have sons and
: daughters. They know that they can die and
: that they may never see their families
: again. And yet they go and fight to defend
: their country without regard to their own
: lives. And when they are about to die, they
: don’t cringe in fear. They stand up tall
: and proud and face it like a true man. And
: when they win the day, they don’t always
: come home to a big celebration. Most of the
: time, their only reward is the knowledge
: that they fought to protect their country
: and what it stood for. And even though they
: give so much, they still don’t ask for
: anything in return. They don’t ask for
: anything, except to protect and to serve
: their country again and again and again,
: until they are dead. These are the true
: heroes. Men who are willing to die if it
: will help protect their country for one more
: day. Men who are willing to give their
: tomorrow for our today. Men who are willing
: to give up their freedom so that we can keep
: ours.
:
: Soldiers are the true superheroes of the
: world. And believe it or not, there are
: some people out there that don’t realize
: what soldiers go through in war. They think
: that the only thing a soldier does is go
: over to some foreign country and start
: killing anything that moves. These people
: are nothing but a bunch of cowardly,
: ungrateful traitors. They don’t deserve the
: protection that the very people that they
: are insulting give them. And the soldiers
: that protect them know about these people,
: and yet they are still willing to lay down
: their lives for their safety.
:
: So the next time you want to protest against
: a war because you think it’s wrong, or
: insult America by burning the Stars and
: Stripes, or spit on and jeer soldiers
: because they fought in a war, the next time
: you want to do any of those acts of treason,
: take the time to stop and think. Think
: about all the men who have died so you could
: have the right to voice your opinion. Think
: about what the world would be like for
: America if none of the major wars in history
: had occurred. But most of all think about
: the soldiers themselves. Think about the
: horrors they have to go through everyday.
: Think about the pain they feel when they or
: one of their comrades is dying. Think about
: what their families must feel when they
: receive a letter that says their son,
: daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father
: is dead. And think about how you would feel
: if you were in their place and someone came
: and hated you because you choked on mud and
: blood so that they could hate you. You
: think about all that the next time you want
: to insult America’s Finest, because one day
: you might be called upon to do the same
: thing that they are doing. There is no law
: that says these brave men have to sacrifice
: their lives for ungrateful people. These
: men don’t have to do these brave deeds.
: They don’t have to do them at all, but
: instead they have decided that their lives
: are second place to the protection and well
: being of their country. And for this, they
: are the ones who deserve the title
: SUPERHEROES!
:
: Did I do good?
:
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