And now for the obligatory counter-argument from the resident liberal.
Originally posted by reno96teg
I hope you are specifically singled out for the next terrorist incident that this country sees. We all know that another attack or wave of attacks is imminent and I can only pray that you are the target, for you are doing nothing but endangering the lives of more Americans.
I don't really see how protesting
endangers the life of other Americans. Typical conservative tactic to demonize anyone with a conflicting point of view.
An old saying comes to mind: United we stand, divided we fall. If you, in your simple naivety, are so sure that fighting for our way of life is wrong, then by all means voice your opinion in a positive, non-destructive way. The way of life that allows you to make an ass of yourself in the streets of America also allows you to run for public office and elect the public officials who you think will best represent the populous.
Voicing a dissenting opinion is still divisive. Not everyone can run for public office. If protesting in the "legal" way was productive, then people would do it.
If you truly wanted to further your cause of peace, why didn't you protest our war in Afghanistan? Why didn't you protest our various endeavors in Iraq, Africa and Eastern Europe during the Clinton administration? Why didn't you protest our action in Panama or our "war on drugs"? The truth of the matter is that peace is not gained through words alone but the road to peace and democracy is paved only with the blood, sweat and tears of those willing to die for the freedom of others.
Personally I didn't protest certain prior conflicts because I had no objection to the policies of the government initiating those conflicts. The Bush administration has continually strategically manipulated its focus and reasoning as to why we have gone to Iraq, from weapons of mass distruction, to removing an evil regime, to freeing the Iraqi people. A warm fuzzy name like "Operation Iraqi Freedom" doesn't change the fact that the administration has been acting like it's the CIA or something while all of its actions are fully publicised.
Understand this: your protesting, your blocking of our streets, your occupation of our cities resources, and your rape of the first amendment is not helping to spread peace nor increase the safety of the American people, but rather it is causing the opposite. Our police are so busy keeping the peace with peace protesters (ironic, no?) that terrorists might as well come on in and do as they please. After the events of September 11th, 2001, I can only assume that we would want to put all possible resources into keeping our cities safe, but your protests are hindering that. So ultimately in my mind, if there was to be another attack, I can only hope it is against the people who are essentially allowing it to happen.
Protesters disrupt the normal goings-on of the day so that other people will pay attention to them. Sure it sucks that for one day out of the year certain people have a 3-hour commute to work, but really does a protest screw up stuff that much? And when has a terrorist attack been launched during a protest staged by U.S. citizens?
Our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, relatives, friends, heroes and idols are dispersed throughout the planet as we speak fighting for the freedom of others, feeding the poor, defending the helpless and keeping peace all in the name of humanity and you should be ashamed for protesting against them. I'm sick and tired of hearing the excuse from you protestors that you are not against the coalition forces, but against the war they are fighting. Although this is a much better stance than the protestors of the sixties who acted appallingly towards our soldiers coming home from Vietnam, I firmly believe that causing civil unrest in the name of "peace" does nothing but demoralize our soldiers who are valiantly serving us across the world.
That's not what a lot of people are protesting. There are plenty of people such as myself who are not fundamentally against war like your typical protester; but are distressed by the actions of the administration in pursuing this conflict. That's
MY objection, not to the troops carrying out their orders. Any comparison to any prior conflict is completely invalid, because it assumes that the same people are protesting as before. Protesting is usually never against the troops themselves, but against the people ordering those troops around. All of this "support the troops" stuff is moot, because virtually no one is against the troops. They just want the troops to get sent home and out of harm's way.
Protesting a war on an evil, murdering tyrant whose government is responsible for more atrocities that are countable or even worth recounting is the same as showing support for said tyrant. When you show your disgust for our government's actions in trying to overthrow his regime, you are showing your support for him.
Saddam has been "an evil, murdering tyrant" for over 20 years. He hasn't gotten any worse in that time. He had and used chemical weapons back in the 80's, that were supplied to him by the U.S. Lest we forget,
that is the precedent upon which this war was waged, not that the Iraqi people were suddenly in need of international assistance. They've been in just as much need since Saddam gained power.
My last message is this: think twice before going out to the cities of America with the soul purpose of disrupting the commutes of your hardworking neighbors in hopes of getting on TV with your clever signs and ridiculous behavior. Is your stopping traffic in the middle of the city and playing dead in front of office buildings actually going to bring peace to the world? No, no it is not. I'm not saying that individuals or groups of people cannot effect change in the world, but I think the way the American protestors are trying to do this is a waste of time and taxpayers money.
The fact that people are complaining is evidence that these tactics are working. The point is to get people's attention. If nobody knows that a protest is going on, then how is the issue going to be made public?
Show your patriotism by writing to the officials elected by you or even better by running for political office, not by skipping work or school and clogging up America's streets with the intention of showing off your divisive, non-constructive childish behavior.
Writing a letter to an elected official is not a public display of an issue. Elections aren't happening for a while ago, and it's not a reasonably expectation that any regular person who happens to have a dissenting opinion has even some of the resources necessary for mounting a successful political campaign. Divisive behavior is what happens when people have the right to divide themselves based on their opinions. It's non-constructive in that it is counter to the point of view of the person who wrote this letter, but it's very constructive for people who are trying to draw attention to their issue of choice.