Support The Troops, Always?

I understand that questioning the collective blind, adoring support of our military troops is (to understate) a politically incorrect concept. I've seen so many, particularly those burdened with the heavy invisible backpacks of liberal guilt, including myself, quickly amend their anti-war sentiments with an automatic "of course, I support the troops, 100%."  Really? Always?

My husband, The Pilot, is ex-military, as are many of our friends. Loved ones have served in Iraq. I am hardly anti-military.

And I honor and support the human traits of courage, strength, loyalty and selflessness, in military and all other endeavors.

But really, are all soldiers, just by virtue of enlisting (or becoming officers) automatically entitled to my adoration?

My heart goes out to all of those caught in grievous situations, torn from their families, mired in a political, religious and cultural swamp. My heart breaks for all of our citizens who are injured or die in combat, on a foreign soil, far away from home.


But my heart equally breaks for the thousands of innocents we are killing on their own soil, in their own homes.

A former boyfriend of mine, in the National Guard (and probably in Iraq now, who knows?) kept telling me he wanted to "serve his country." I guess I was questioning him a bit about his military involvement. I asked him why he couldn't serve his country by becoming a teacher, or some other public servant. He felt called to military service, and I respected that.

Judging from the stories I have heard back from Iraq, our troops and civilian security and other forces are on the whole pretty miserable, and have found themselves in an exhausting, dangerous, confusing, surreal experience. I imagine there are thousands of Iraqi citizens feeling pretty similarly right about now.

Our citizens need the unconditional support (fiscal, intelligence, equipment, honesty) from the people who sent them there, not necessarily from me.

Again, my heart breaks. This war, most wars, make me think of lemmings, following each other off a cliff (do they really do that, or is it a myth?) But that's not the right metaphor. That metaphor is somewhat patronizing and reveals my arrogance; it assumes that the individuals don't fully realize what they are doing. That they have not made fully-informed choices. Otherwise, they wouldn't be killing people in a bogus occupation, right?

However, if our troops are not blindly obeying (as they are trained, as they must, to be unflinchingly combat-ready), and if they are wide awake and aware and thus have personal responsibility for their actions, for the killings that they are perpetuating, then I will not, and cannot, blindly support them all.

Not as some cozy, fuzzy, yellow-ribboned, ideal, anyway.

I support their pain and the fact that they must make impossible choices under questionable circumstances, and that they are away from home, and that's about the best I can do today.

Happy Veteran's Day.

Comments

[Popeye]

Kudos for being brave enough to ask this question. I struggle with similar questions. . .

[SmartBlkWoman]

The troops go where they are told to go and do what they are told to do. This isn't really about them at all.

Whenever people say "but wait, we can't talk about this because we have to support the troops!" it's a smokescreen. The only people that say that are those that don't want to talk about the real issues. Namely, can we "win" in Iraq? Is this whole 'war on terror' a bunch of bs? And the most important question of all "did Bush lead us into a quagmire because somebody tried to kill his Daddy years before?"

[Pearl]

It's almost a biblical conundrum isn't it? Like taxes.... yield unto caesar that which is caesar's but still serve higher good first. Sometimes higher duty is refusing commands when the commands are wrong but the whole structure of function breaks down when people from ground level break rank with those who say they can see the whole chestboard and long term.

btw, it2m know what they like. One can't get what you like wrong. I rather enjoyed their smackdown myself. But thanks for coming to my defense. :) That's sweet.

[Shephard]

What I can't seem to convince myself of, is whether it is accurate to say any 18 - 25 year old truly comprehends mortality and the value and impact of loved ones in their lives. I don't think there's a person on the planet who could convince me of that. Not even Dr. Phil. To me, that means their choices to serve are not wholely well-informed.
THAT breaks my heart.

~S