May

14

It would be hard for me to add much to Lucinda’s famous piece, aside from thanking her for writing it, for saying it, and empowering me, and I suspect, others, to say it.

I do not support the troops, either, Lucinda. I support the Iraqi Resistance.

I can’t match her eloquence, but I can say that the reason I do not support the troops because I do not support invasion, occupation, crimes against humanity, atrocities, or human rights violations in any way, shape or form, which doesn’t sound like such a controversial opinion until you make it clear that you do not support these things no matter who does them. And “no matter who” includes the United States and Israel.

That is the kind of thing that, while it may not be technically illegal to say in the United States - well, let me qualify that. I am sure that there are legal experts who could argue that expressing such a view would be protected under the First Amendment, and those who would argue that it would not.

But the constitution has, in reality, become more of an historic statement of ideals than a legal operating system, and there are plenty of folks being “interrogated” in various US “facilities” here and there around the world, to remind us of that.

And then there is the Patriot Act, which pretty much trumps the constitution anyway.

It is not likely that even the long, long arm of the Washington regime is going to spend the resources to come and seize a blogger who engages in a verbal violation of the Patriot Act, but it would still be a bit sketchy, I think, to express some views on a US server, especially an ad-supported one, because there you get into the business of business, which, in the US, trumps everything.

The people who own the blogging service might even, in their hearts, agree with you, but they also have to make a living, so it is more of a courtesy issue, in my view, to commit one’s Patriot Act violations on servers that reside outside the US.

Why should you put the blog server owner in the position of having to spend time calming down his advertisers, possibly even feeling bad about having to scrap your blog, whether he agrees with you or not.

But back to the main issue. Although I try to avoid offline discussions of politics, as a matter of courtesy as well as security, sometimes it’s impossible not to, and one of the things most often gasped at someone who does not “support the troops” is “but they are AMERICANS!”

Yes, and there are thousands of rapists, murderers, and child predators who are also Americans, and I do not support them either.

The idea of opposition to an action, to a behavior, is, in American culture, and possibly in some others, very deeply tied to the actor.

Selective enforcement of laws ranging from ordinances pertaining to vagrancy to assault to drunk driving has traditionally been condoned, expected, even seen as desirable by the mainstream demographic, and I think that has just sort of ballooned out and blossomed into a cultural norm that fails to see the inconsistency in supporting individuals who choose to participate in the invasion of another country, and individuals who choose to participate in the invasion of a lovely suburban home.

Lucinda does a great job of articulating this unintended failure to accord these “troops” even the most basic level of respect as human beings, when she makes reference to the arguments that they are manipulated by recruiters, or are unsophisticated and callow youths who wish to be able to purchase health care, or attend a technical school.

They are still human beings, still able to make their own choices, based on their own moral standards, their own ideas of right and wrong, and to imply that they are some sort of sub-species devoid of free will, would not, if it were true, be especially comforting to those who do believe that they are “over there defending our freedom.”

Which brings me to the subject of belief. I try to respect all beliefs, even those I don’t share, but I do object to ways of expressing those beliefs that do harm to others.

For example, someone may believe that a particular ethnic group is in whatever way undesirable, and I would be opposed to obliging that person to go and visit people of that group, or invite them to their parties.

However, my respect for their belief would not extend to agreement with their going up to people from that group and punching them in the nose. That was in essence the purpose of the Civil Rights Act in the US, which made some dramatic cosmetic changes to racial apartheid, and has even, in some cases, been instrumental in more substantial ways.

Hey, can I digress, or what?

For many people, I think that “defending our freedom” belief is more than just being a sheeple. To NOT believe that would be devastating. It would mean that much that they have been taught is a lie. That is a whole handful of bitter pills to swallow, for people who are not really evil, nor are they stupid.

Stupidity and ignorance are very different things, and going back again to US culture, ignorance of certain things is a point of pride.

The result is millions of people who have never studied either history or current events from a non-US perspective, non-US sources, and most will tell you that this is because the American newspapers, the American textbooks, are better. That, they believe is where truth can be found. Foreign books, foreign news outlets, are not to be trusted. Some of them are, they will tell you with all sincerity, are “anti-American.”

Everyone should, they will go on to tell you, support the troops because they are in danger. They are away from home, in a place where a lot of people are anti-American. To turn the idea around, and imagine how it would be if another country invaded the US, is just not something they can do.

No one would invade the US, they will chuckle, because that country would be destroyed. The US has the best weaponry in the world and more of it! They perceive this as a good thing, as something that protects them from all that anti-American sentiment.

If you persist in trying to have your conversation, it will be kind of like trying to explain the internet to someone from a small isolated Central American village that does not now and has never had electricity. There is just no hook there to hang the concept!

To sum up, if, like me, you do not support the troops, my advice is that you do not attempt to persuade your friends and family to change their views.

You will create situations that are beyond unpleasant, and you could put yourself, even them, in danger. While it is not exactly accurate to call it a “war,” since that term would imply at least something resembling parity, you are, like me, nevertheless on the “other side,” just as you would be in the case of a home invasion by a gang of local street criminals, should you take the part of the homeowners.

Start a blog here on Baywords. And you are more than welcome to come comment here.

And whatever offline activities find you, and they will, keep online and offline 100% and totally unconnectible and separate.


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