Driving home tonight, I pulled up to a stoplight and noticed that the car next to me had a bumper sticker on it that read, “Support The Troops…End The War”.
Now, I understand that the nimrod driving this car is probably thinking to himself how noble he is by “supporting” what’s supposedly in the best interest of our troops. He’s probably thinking to himself that the best way to “back” our troops is to bring them home. But when you sit back and think about that bumper sticker, I can’t think of a more effective way to blatantly insult our troops than to display a message like that. The underlying message that it sends is this: “Come back home…you’ve failed miserably.”
To expand on that, that pathetic bumper sticker also implies that everything our troops have worked for means nothing. It implies that yes, our troops have shed their blood and in many cases have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country, but the cause isn’t worth fighting for anymore, so let’s bring them all home so that we can shame them by insulting their cause. That bumper sticker also goes so far as to insult the families of those lost on September 11th by saying, “Your lost loved ones are not worth the sacrifice they unknowingly made on that fateful day. It’s not worth it to put our troops in harm’s way to right the wrong done on September 11th. It’s not worth it to make a stand and fight for what’s right anymore. It’s not worth it to stop those who have every intention of doing us harm again.”
Am I reading too much into this bumper sticker? Absolutely not. The message the sticker sends is everything that is insulting, harmful, and despicable to our valiant troops. Having said that, there’s no doubt in my mind that many or most of our troops would rather be here at home than out on the front lines getting shot at. I’m not trying to say that our forces are filled with glee to be in a combat zone. Nobody wants to be in a war.
The issue is this: we are IN a war that was not of our choosing, whether you like it or not. We are IN a war whether you agree with it or not. We are IN a war whether you acknowledge it or not. We could sit around here with all of our troops at home and pretend that there are no bad guys out there trying to conquer nations and slaughter the innocent for the sake of furthering their quest for ultimate power. But that kind of “bury your head in the sand” mentality is perhaps one of the biggest threats to our own safety and security, because it’s a convenient way to ignore reality and it’s a total cop-out.
I would like to make something very clear to those of you who seem to think that bringing our troops home is the best way to show your “support”. Our armed forces do not wear the uniform to march in hometown parades and look cool. Our troops have not enlisted in the service because it would look good on a resume. Our soldiers have not endured countless hours of training and endurance testing solely for the sake of seeing if they could do it and then go home. Our armed forces signed up to do a very valuable and important thing: SERVE THEIR COUNTRY.
I would also point out that, to my knowledge, there’s no active draft in our nation at this time. This means that everyone currently enlisted has done so by CHOICE. Our forces have volunteered to serve their country. Many volunteered as a direct response to September 11th. They know the risks. They know what they’re likely to face upon enlisting. This is what they’ve agreed to do for you, and for me. They’ve agreed to defend our country. They’ve agreed to lay down their lives for you. I can’t think of a bigger insult then to simply say with a shitty bumper sticker, “Don’t bother”.
It’s uncanny how the Democratic party has so effectively pulled the wool over so many eyes in this country by portraying the war on terror as some sort of sick, twisted, conjured-up quest of the Bush administration. Bush did NOT start this war, you ignorant fucking assholes. Al Qaeda did. Here’s a simple explanation for you fucking retards who seem to have forgotten the good guys from the bad guys:
- George Bush / Saddam Hussein – Saddam was the bad guy
- Dick Cheney / Osama Bin Laden – Bin Laden is the bad guy
- Condoleeza Rice / Mullah Omar – Omar is the bad guy
- CIA / Guantanamo Detainees – The detainees are the bad guys
- Bush Administration / Taliban – The Taliban are the bad guys
- U.S. Troops / Islamic Extremists – the Islamic Extremists are the bad guys
See how easy that was? All you needed was a quick little refresher course on the good guys versus the bad guys. Maybe that’ll help put things back into perspective, and make you realize what side you’re supposed to be on with regard to our troops. Because if you honestly believe that it’s in the best interest of our nation’s well being to just bring the troops home with no rhyme or reason, then you’ve just spat in the face of every soldier who’s fighting for you, and you’ve just desecrated the graves of all those who have died for you. Furthermore, if you think our troops need to come home this instant, in light of all that’s happening on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, then you’ve just patted Al Qaeda on the back and said, “Job well done.”
I, for one, support our troops in their efforts to rid the world of Islamic absolutism. And that means I support their FIGHT. I want them all to come home safely, too, but our enemies must be defeated, or it was all for nothing.
How insulting it must be for our troops to see a paradoxical message like “Support The Troops…End The War”. If you’ve chosen the mindset that we should just blindly and ignorantly end the war with no regard for the risks and with no regard for our troops’ sacrifices, then you are NOT supporting our troops at all. Go and bury your head in the sand. Our troops can do without such insults at a time when they need our honest support the most.
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