We've all seen those lovely yellow magnets in all their wondrous variety as we tool down the freeway each day. But what does the statement "I Support Our Troops" really mean? It seems to be a relatively meaningless statement on its face. Support the Troops. How, financially? I already do that when I pay my taxes. Support the Cause, then. So, then why are we in Iraq? We've certainly found no WMD's to speak of and the idea that they were miraculously shipped out under the cover of darkness to neighboring Syria is laughable. We did remove Hussein from power, based on the fact that he was a tyrant and killed his own people. The problem is that the invasion to remove Saddam Hussein has resulted in over 100,000 dead Iraqis, untold infrastructure damage to the country and a destabilization that seems unlikely to improve any time soon. Iraq teeters dangerously close to civil war, a situation exacerbated by growing sectarian tensions among Iraq's disparate peoples. So, I cannot Support the Cause, both because I'm not sure exactly what it was any longer and because it has carried too dear a cost.
So maybe the ribbons really mean "Support the President". I think this is much more likely as I've heard the idea expressed that we should show solidarity with our President in this time of war. Not to put too fine a point on things, but I couldn't disagree more with that sentiment. In fact, I believe there is no more essential time to question our leadership than in a time of war. President Bush and his staff should be grilled unrelentingly about every aspect of this war and its costs to our country. The President needs to be held accountable for the decisions he makes and, in turn, should be holding his appointees accountable as well. That's what a true leader does and the fact that Donald Rumsfeld still has a job in Washington is a clear indication to me that this has not been happening.
"Support Our Troops by Bringing Them Home and Holding President Bush Accountable." I'm going to need a big magnet...
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3 comments:
The problem with many of the magnets for sale at your local retailer is that the majority are made in China. It's seems rather unpatriotic to purchase them for that reason alone. I've only found one retailer (in a brief unscientific survey, conducted by moi) with ribbons made in the U.S. - Linens N' Things.
I haven't bought one and don't plan on it. Like the above comment, they aren't even made in the US. And two, I don't support the president's decisions right now. The troops...I fully hope they can all come home soon and be with their families.
Jessica
FYI Linen and Things is now going out of business!
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