Support the troops

This is another postcard from the Post Secret site. It got me thinking about the rabid fervor behind the Support the Troops message. The Right is always condemning the Left when the Left wants to cut military spending and not go to war for not supporting the troops. The Left is always trying to reconcile the complicated position of being anti-war but pro-troops. This problem led to John Kerry being the '04 candidate, and was the basis for much of his lousy campaign.

Al Franken talks on his radio show about going to USO shows in Iraq, which is great for him because he's so far left-wing, but he's willing to go and perform for a bunch of people who probably don't know who he is.

Many people seem to say, "Well, I know someone over there and so of course I support them." I know two people who've been in Iraq since the war. One is in the army. He went back voluntarily because of some thrill soldiers seem to get in going to war. I guess that's part of being in the army. Another used to be military, and now works for Halliburton. He's gone a few times, and his incentive is easier to grasp: he makes boatloads of money, as in, retire before age 30 and live well money.

This postcard helped me realize my problem with the 'anti-war/pro-troops' argument. The troops are inherently, implicitly, inexcusably linked with war. It's part of being in the army when you shoot people, and that isn't something I support. It's their job to drop bombs and terrorize civilians and torture prisoners, and I don't support that. If there was a draft, I'd hope for the safe return of those who went against their will. But there isn't, and everyone who is there is there because at some point, he or she made the decision to take a job that involves killing people.

I don't think there's anything righteous or virtuous in what they're doing. I don't want them to get killed, but I don't stand by them because they risk their lives. I support the people who risk their lives everyday because they have no choice -- people like the Iraqi civilians, and the civilians in many other places who just happen to live in violent areas. But as for the people who choose to go to such places, gun in hand, I don't support them.