"Support Our Troops"

You know, I've had it with the statement "Support Our Troops." It's a loaded, full of crap, partisan driven litmus test for separating "True Patriots" from the "Commie Liberal Scum." Yet behind the bravado, the machismo, the pissing contest, what this whole statement comes down to is do you honor or dishonor the troops? I honor the troops.


Pure Bullshit 

Every American supports the troops. You know why? We all pay taxes. My tax dollars, just like every American's, goes to pay for the military. Yet those in charge dishonor our troops by not supplying them with the armor and supplies they need and cutting the benefits they deserve when they return, while their friends get rich on the profits of war. (Halliburton and many others)

I honor the troops by working hard, playing by the rules, and gladly paying my share of taxes that go to pay for our military. I do not dishonor them by incorporating myself, setting up a PO Box in Bermuda, and asking my lawyers and accountants to figure out ways I can pay less tax.


I honor the troops by paying my fair share, and supporting politicians who demand that others pay their fair share as well. Cutting taxes in a time of war dishonors our troops. It starves our government of the resources it needs while millionaires reap the profits.

I honor the troops by understanding freedom isn't free, and neither is our country's dependence on oil. Those who rally for war, riding around in their SUV with a yellow magnet above the gas cap, are the first to claim "freedom isn't free." But how do they honor the service of the troops? By placing a feel-good yellow magnet on a vehicle of vanity that gets 13MPG while it feeds our habit for foreign oil and drives our foreign policy towards war and away from energy independence.

I honor our troops by trying to change our leaders to ones that will not dishonor our veterans or our country. I do not dishonor them by supporting an administration that supports torture, ignore the Geneva Conventions, weaken our military, or promote our "moral" leadership through a hypocritical bullying world posture.

I say honor our troops by flying the flag they die for. Do this because our troops deserve respect, not because the flag is a political symbol you can wrap your politics in.

I honor our troops by not supporting this war based on lies. The war is the Bush administration's. Bush and his administration own it. Bush and the rest of those so willing to go to war will reap the consequences of their war in this life or the next. The troops are doing their duty to the Commander in Chief and trying to survive. Bush and his administration dishonor them by putting them in a position where getting themselves killed is more likely than any real lasting victory.

Support our troops? I honor them. I wish many others would also by standing up for what's right.

And just to set the record straight, they are not in Iraq, defending or fighting for "our freedom" or "our way of life". Iraq never attacked the United States, this is a war we chose strictly for economic reasons. Saudi Arabia treats its people and its women just as poorly, but the Bush family are pals with them, we have a double standard. It's a shame these young people are getting killed for a ridiculous cause.