Yellow Dog

By Bill Shein, Berkshire Eagle

"I SUPPORT the troops by remembering -- every day -- that we are at war.

I support the troops by crying at the loss of their young lives, the pain suffered by their families, and the indefensible choices my government has made.

I support the troops not by cheering the war they've been sent to wage, or celebrating the battles they've won, but instead, by joining the effort to bring them home now.

I support the troops by asking why a senior Pentagon official appeared before Congress and didn't know the number of soldiers who had lost their lives.

I support the troops by imagining a day when chants of "USA! USA!" interrupt speeches about ending poverty and hunger, not those that boast of America's ability to rain fire onto human beings.

I support the troops by fighting for quality public schools and a living wage, so the military is no longer the career of last resort for America's most vulnerable.

I support the troops by asking which "moral value" is on display when we avenge the horrific murder of 3,000 innocents by killing 100,000 more.

I support the troops by rejecting the morality of a "pre-emptive war" that turns foreign soil into a graveyard for innocent foreign civilians -- a policy whose adherents improperly claim is a legal, moral and legitimate alternative to "fighting the enemy here at home."

I support the troops by denouncing wartime "journalism" provided by embedded reporters, retired generals and partisan spinners, especially when it ignores the voices of those with the hope and idealism to suggest a better way.

I support the troops by protesting the new language of war, which labels the death of innocent children as "collateral damage"; the accidental murder of their mothers "regrettable"; the killing of journalists who seek the truth "unfortunate"; the slaughter of the wounded as a "mop-up operation"; and that reduces human beings to "targets" to be "destroyed."

I support the troops by abhorring violence against nations, people, animals and the environment -- a belief system approaching its 2,000th birthday. Because you don't have to be a Christian to know what Jesus would do."

Berkshire Eagle Online - Other Opinions

As families are gathering together for the Thanksgiving holiday, it seems appropriate to post this moving letter from a mother whose son is serving in Iraq.

"My son is involved in a deadly situation that should never have been. I feel like a mother lion in a cage, my grown cub in danger, and all I can do is throw myself furiously against the bars, impotent to protect him. My tolerance for b.s. is zero, and I've snapped off more heads in the last several months than in all the rest of my 48 years combined.

For the first time in my life and with great amazement and sorrow, I feel what can only be described as hatred. It took me a long time to admit it, but there it is. I loathe the hubris, the callousness, and the lies of those in the Bush administration who led us into this war.

Truth be told, I even loathe the fallible and very human purveyors of those lies. I feel no satisfaction in this admission, only sadness and recognition. I hope that, given time, I can do better. I never wanted to hate anyone."

While it's difficult to imagine what she must be going through, I did find myself identifying with her following description of how she no longer feels that she knows family members and friends who blindly support the administration who took us into this unnecessary war and did so without planning for enough troops or without having an exit plan. It's like we have completely different worldviews and makes me wonder how we even came from the same family and how we can possibly continue to be close when we don't share basic philosophical perspectives and values.

"Then there is the wedge that has been driven between part of my extended family and me. They don't see this war as one based on lies. They've become evangelical believers in a false faith, swallowing Bush's fearmongering, his chicken-hawk posturing and strutting. They cheer his "bring 'em on" attitude as a sign of strength and resoluteness.

Perhaps life is just easier that way. These are the same people who have known my son since he was a baby; who have held him, loved him and played with him; who have bought him birthday presents and taken him fishing. I don't know them anymore."

Mother's view of the war / Battle fatigue on the home front

The spending bill passed late on Saturday contained provisions that once again reflect all too clearly Bush's misplaced priorities:

From Reuters:

"The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday that sets aside funds for a range of priorities including a presidential yacht, foreign aid and energy."

A PRESIDENTIAL YACHT? In the same bill that cuts pell grants and aid for college students? At a time when families are holding bake sales and fund raisers so that they can send body armor to their loved ones serving in Iraq?

Here's another provision that stinks:

"The House of Representatives...must also approve a resolution that would correct part of the spending bill that would have allowed lawmakers access to the tax returns of Americans and which provoked outrage among lawmakers from both parties."

That's right, at the request of Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma, a special provision was inserted into the bill which allows the Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees or their "agents" to review any American's tax return with no restrictions whatsoever.

Oh well, we already put up with the trampling of privacy rights in the Patriot Act, which allows the federal government to see what books we've checked out of the library. What's a few more privacy protections lost, right Bush voters?

Top News Article | Reuters.com