Well after looking at everyone's journals and seeing what a mess I've created with my entry about the draft I felt that I needed to at least take some part in the discussion (and hopefully stop it in it's tracks).
(BTW this started out as a comment to one of my friends entries but soon got too extreme for me to post it as a comment)
First off I was the one who posted the stuff on the draft in the first place and I am in no way a "flamin' liberal" but I am very much "freaking out" about this whole draft thing. When I posted the stuff about it on my livejournal I never meant for it to go this far or get everyone so riled up about it, although it's probably for the best that it did. It's a good chance for everyone to get their opinions out. Now for mine
Since the start of this whole "war", one of my greatest fears has been the possibility of a draft, the possibility that many of my good friends, young as they may seem to me, might be called to go and serve in active military duty. It scares me to death to realize that with this rumored draft, not only will all of my male friends be required to serve, but my female friends as well. That just about everyone at my high school will be forced to go off to war, leaving behind any hopes they have for a good future, good education, or a family of their own complete with children who actually recognize their parents when they see them for the first time in a while.
I know what it's like to have a family member in the military. My dad served in the Army/Air force for 13 years and had been in the service since before I was even born. He is also a veteran of the Gulf war and, during his time in the military, had been away from my family a lot, often for months at a time. I know what it's like to barely recognize a family member after they've been gone for a long time, and yet through all of that I never once heard him complain about the country he was serving.
one thing that I want everyone to realize is that I support this country and her leaders wholeheartedly. I think the whole anti-bush propaganda scheme is ridiculous and get very upset when I see someone discredit America or the flag or the blood sacrifice of every American soldier who has fought to make America the country it is today. Truth be told I would willingly go into war and fight for that belief, but what gets to me about this whole draft thing is the absence of choice. Call me selfish or proud or whatever you like, but if I'm going to go fight for my country I want to be able to say that I'm fighting because I love my country, instead of fighting with the resentment that my leaders forced me to fight. I would never want anyone to even consider that I might possibly not care about the sacrifice it took and still takes to keep America free. As much as I hate all of the crap that people have been throwing at Bush, it's incredible to me to think that all those people have the power to do so and probably don't even fully realize and value it. This countries power to voice it's opinions of it's leaders is just one of the freedoms that has been paid for in innocent blood. If we as the people of America cease to realize that sacrifice, if we discredit the price of freedom, then we cease to be free. Without the understanding of that price, there is no value of freedom and no loyalty to keep this country intact. At this point I don't care what excuses anyone has for being unpatriotic or for discrediting America and her leaders. President Bush is only a man, a citizen of America just like any one of us. How stupid is it of us to elect a man or woman as our president and then expect them to be a flawless all-knowing all-seeing being, free from the imperfections of humanity?!? How can we possibly claim to be a country "by the people and for the people" if we expect our leaders to be above humanity? I don't know about any of you but I personally could never have done as good a job leading this country as he could. Quite honestly don't even want to try. President Bush has the fate of America riding on his shoulders and the media has full power to rip him to shreds. All the stuff about the draft is just another attempt to discredit, not only the president, but the blood sacrifice of millions of Americans to keep this country free.
I don't care what anyone else thinks at this point, but if this draft does come to pass so be it, Someone needs to fight for the freedom of this country, someone needs to show the world that America can and will stand on the hard fought for ground on which it resides, and fight with gratitude in their hearts for a country that has given them so much, rather than sit back and expect more people to sacrifice for the freedom that so many people have come to place little value on. Someone needs to do so and if there's a need for me, I would willingly be one of them.
13 comments:
Wellwell. . .
This whole rush of angst or pride towards said draft is silly. If it's going to happen, it will happen, and if not, it wont. Quite frankly, people's opinions wont help or hinder one way or another. It's gotten to the point where it's less about patriotism or the war and more about people merely feeling like they need to verse their opinions, because they think their opinions do something. And that isn't just within this small LJ circle, it's wherever anybody is talking about it.
In any case, did anybody notice that the article was from a site that wasn't government sponsored or anything along those lines, and the page that it got its information from was incredibly vague. . .?
Um... I saw about 3 people post it before you did, Ani. :-)
I personally have no desire to serve in the military. I've seen firsthand what it does to families. It sucks.
As for supporting the President, that's something I won't do. Bush has gotten us into some serious crap that no one seems to recognize as being serious...
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country."
-Theodore Roosevelt
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be."
-Thomas Jefferson
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin
If I fight in a war, it will be to protect my home and my inalienable rights, not Bush's oil.
okay
here is the trade: freedom for security, if you can find the happy balance, great! As for me and my dog(I wish I had a dog *sniffle*) I'm going on vacation.
Dude, think about it though: Bush or Kerry?
As for protecting oil... it serves you as well, or do you not drive anywhere? While that is a fairly small matter in the war economic concerns are also involved when defending one's home.
Hey when I get back let's spar, a'ight?
Re: Wellwell. . .
yes, this has changed from the draft, but opinions eventually lead to action. It is always better to decide how you will react to a situation before it comes around. That way, you won't have to stop and think about it when you are faced with the choice.
And no, crutches still do not count as the one useful tool. Sorry.
Re: okay
We have more untapped oil in our own country than we get from the Middle East... And never mind the fact that Condoleeza Rice has an oil tanker named after her...
You got your gear?
Re: Wellwell. . .
Do you think that official government sites are going to tell you everything? Just because it may appear dubious does not mean it is invalid...
Addressing more your post than the draft itself...
President Bush is only a man, a citizen of America just like any one of us. How stupid is it of us to elect a man or woman as our president and then expect them to be a flawless all-knowing all-seeing being, free from the imperfections of humanity?!? How can we possibly claim to be a country "by the people and for the people" if we expect our leaders to be above humanity?
That's right, he's only a man. A man who has screwed up on some stuff, in addition to doing some good. Frankly though, there are better men out there. People speaking out against him do not expect him to be some infallible leader. They expect him to represent the people of this nation and act in their best interest. Whether he's done that or not is certainly debatable and in their minds, he hasn't. Their view is that, if he's screwing stuff up, get him out and someone else (whom they think has the potential of doing a better job) in. Incompetance is dangerous in high positions.
I don't care what anyone else thinks at this point, but if this draft does come to pass so be it, Someone needs to fight for the freedom of this country, someone needs to show the world that America can and will stand on the hard fought for ground on which it resides, and fight with gratitude in their hearts for a country that has given them so much, rather than sit back and expect more people to sacrifice for the freedom that so many people have come to place little value on.
And how would the draft instill this gratitude and patriotism in the hearts of those it affects? You said yourself that you'd rather fight saying you love your country than the resentment of being forced to. This comes pretty close to a contradiction.
As for me, I'll fight, but not because I'm told to. I'll fight because the Constitution is hanging by a thread. I'll fight to save it. I'll fight here.
Re: okay
not yet, but I should be back to class on the 11th, I'll get it then.
Re: Wellwell. . .
Oh, I do agree with that. . .I just think that seriously getting up in arms about something and taking deep offense is somewhat silly, is all ^^;
And they do count! They have to! *glances around*
Re: Wellwell. . .
*shrugs* I think, idealist that I tend to be, that I would rather trust a government site that doesn't give full details than an extreme liberal site who's credibility is skeptical. I just think it's a little silly for people to get so addlepated over something that is more likely to be untrue than not. . .and I'm referring to all of the people I've seen react to this, not just you guys ^^; The other LJ groups and message boards I'm involved with are reacting extremely too. . .I just don't see the need ^^;;
Just my two bits, really
Re: Wellwell. . .
I checked out the site, and a lot of it is user-submitted stuff. The site itself is a portal to allow others to post letters, contact officials, and database congressional actions. So... yeah.
Re: okay
Actually, your oil statistics are somewhat convoluted. . .
Of course we have more oil in our own country than what we get from the Middle East, but that's only because we only get so much from the Middle East each year. We can get more oil from the Middle East on the whole than we could get from out own country in a year, because the Middle East has larger reserves.
The biggest reserves in the United States are in the Texas/Oklahoma area, and obviously up in Alaska. . .but Alaska has rabid environmentalists swarming it, and the Texas area is already working to get the oil out.
The other largest oil reserves are in oil shale, but that isn't very beneficial, in that it's expensive to remove the oil from the shale, it has a low net energy yield and it massively degrades the landscape, as you're taking away the rock from it. Not only that, but it could affect erosion, water pollution, et cetera.
At this point, given that the oil reserves for the whole world are projected to last for another 75 years maximum at the current rate of consumption, I personally think that we should just forget about the oil and turn to the solar/hydrogen/other alternative energy forms like we should have years ago. . .ah well. . .
Anyway, it isn't a big deal at all, I just wanted to point that out for clarification ^^;
Oh! Another random fact: Did you know the US uses 30% of all of the oil extracted from the entire world each year? Isn't that pathetic?
Re: Wellwell. . .
True, that's why I refuse to post over it again.
And nope... Better luck next time love.*Irish accent just slips out*
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