Veterans For Peace - Think. It's Patriotic

I mentioned that I didn't run in to any obnoxious protestors at yesterday's Memorial Day parade.

I didn't run in to any, but I ended up with a leaflet from an outfit called "Veterans For Peace". (A lady I ran into wrote her email address on it and gave it to me so I could send her a couple of pictures I took of her kids at the parade.)

I've seen them before. I salute anyone who has fought honorably to defend America -- for doing that. With this group, though, the first thing that comes to mind is the smugness, the moral high ground declaration in the name. (Read today's Thomas Sowell for a little more on that kind of talk).

"Veterans for Peace." There is an unstated suggestion that if you're not with them, you're not for peace. As if the "other" flavor of veterans must be "Veterans for War". As if anyone is not for peace.

I'm for peace. It's not a question of being against peace. It's what kind of peace are you willing to accept? Dihimitude is peace. But that's not what America is about. America is not about peace. It's not about being patriotic. It's about liberty. It's about freedom. It is, by design, a nation of free men (and ladies, when I say "men" in that context, that includes you, too just as "horses" includes "mares". English is spoken here.)

So I'm reading this, and it asks:

All around the world, people wish for the same things -- a place to live, food to eat, and health for our families. Does our government facilitate this? Is it an example for our kids, teaching them to value life, love, and community?

Well, our government does facilitate this. It facilitates a system where free men are free to choose what they do for a living, who they associate with, and how they care for their families and friends.

Is our government an example for our kids, teaching them to value life, love, and community?

Our government is not supposed to be an example to our kids, teaching them anything. At least that's not the way it was designed. That has traditionally been the role of religion over the ages. How ironic it is that those who cry loudest about "separation of church and state" want the state to become the new church now that they have pretty much disconnected the values and culture of the church that produced the state. This is precisely why they put that clause in the first amendment. The state should teach our kids values? Isn't that pretty much religion? No, families get to teach their own kids their own values.

That aside, the underlying suggestion is that our government is an aggressive war-mongering machine and is thus a bad example to our kids. But our government isn't an aggressive, war-mongering machine. It does, however, when it goes to war teach kids that some things are worth defending, and that is a value that should be well understood.

It should also be understood that

All around the world, people wish for the same things -- a place to live, food to eat, and health for our families -- and some of them wish for a world without infidels.

And if you're not a Muslim, no matter how much you support them -- you're still an infidel.

At any rate, then they go on to say that "this is not about pro-peace vs pro-war. This is about being a part of a democracy." (Distributed by Mid-Missouri Peaceworks -- right).

Right before they basically go and cast it that way in carefully chosen language to make their balanced-sounding "thinking points". After all, the slogan (remember those, John Edwards?) on the pamphlet is "Think. It's Patriotic." Right before they go ahead try to subtly tell you what you should think (so you don't have to -- see, they've already done it for you).

"Some people think Memorial Day should be celebrated with dispays of weapons and planes, while others hold to its original purpose: to honor all who've died in the tragedy of war."

Well first of all, bub, those two ain't mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact, a display of power is a great way to honor them, as it shows we are still here and still strong, thanks to them. That it wasn't just a tragedy, but it was a tragedy in the line of duty to a higher purpose. The continuation of the idea that is America.

And secondly, it is not to honor all who have died in the tragedy of war. It is to honor all of our soldiers (or soldiers from other armies fighting for us) who have died tragically -- in the tragedy of war. It is not to honor Hitler or Saddam or his sons, or Zarqawi or the filthy bits of sub-humanity who purposely kill civillians in an attempt to sway public opinion through fear and sorrow. The war deaths of those people is not tragic, and this day is not to honor them, but to thank those who died killing them and those like them.

Some people think Memorial Day is an opportunity to recruit more young people into the military while others think our young people should serve our country in ways that don't involve participating wars of aggression.

Well didn't that one come with a truckload of presumptions? Remember, this isn't about pro-peace vs. pro-war. Riiiiiiight. Look at the language. Opportunists are preying on our children to fight for Halliburton is pretty much what they're saying. But "some people think this" and "some people think that". Look how balanced we are! We don't have an agenda, no sir. We just want you to think. In our terms.

Secondly, yes, if it is honorable to die fighting for our country, then it is honorable for young people to pick up the swords of the fallen and follow in their footsteps so they will have died preserving something that we still think is worth preserving.

Some think making war against countries like Iraq or Iran is defending our freedom. But others point out that they have done nothing to us and pose no threat.

Some people apparently haven't been paying attention for the last 30 years if they "point" that "out" -- or they are lying. And check that language out -- see, "some people think" -- but now the other side is "pointing out" -- implying fact, now, not opinion. It's not even "they think" - "we think" anymore. Iran has made no secret that it wishes to undermine and destroy Western Civilization, for it is incompatible with Islam. Iraq invaded a soveriegn country, the U.N. (mostly us, as usual, providing the teeth) kicked his ass back into Iraq. But then the U.N. said - "wait! stop! cease fire!". Uh, only who stayed there to enforce the conditions of that cease-fire? And whose planes were continually shot at (they did nothing to us my round bippie). 17 resolutions. 11 years. America takes the heat (along with Great Britain). As usual.

Where did we station the military force we needed to enforce the "cease fire"? A:Saudi Arabia. And what pissed Bin Laden off more than anything ... something about infidels on holy soil. What could he have been referring to?

Of course, then we get to the whole "blood for oil" thing:

Rather, they think these countries have resources (such as oil) our nation covets and that's the real reason for making war.

Which is the biggest load of bullshit the "Pro-Peace" folks keep repeating. Listen, if we were that big an aggressive, swaggering, thieving bastard... we. would. go. take. the. oil.

We do not. We pay these countries handsomely to use our technology and know-how to basically mine the only natural resource these countries have other than sand. They can't do it. They benefit from it anyway. We pay them for it. Is it in our best interest if that area of the world is kept as stable as possible? Sure it is. But as far as I can see, and nobody has shown me any credible evidence to the contrary - If Iraq is stabilized, she will own her oil and sell it to the highest bidder -- and it ain't just us bidding.

That's the way it works, and that's why oil prices are so high. Because demand not only from us, but from every other developed country in the world is high, and they all bid on it and pay what the market will bear.

If Mid-Missouri Peaceworks gets its way, Iraq will not be stabilized, so that they can gloat about what a mistake it was to try to end the 1991 war once and for all, and leave Iraq free from the tyranny that started it, and their oil won't be any good to us or Iraqis. Just the terrorist-supporting, Islamist government that will take over. Won't that be pretty? (Well, until our technology breaks down and they can't get it out of the ground anymore without commercial mercenaries they might recruit to help them under the table).

Then they go on to babble about "energy independence" through renewable energy rather than through "domination in the Persian Gulf". Well, folks, domination in the Persian Gulf doesn't give us energy independence at all -- so it's a false comparison. And we don't dominate the Persian Gulf. We influence it, for sure, and that's not only good for us but for the rest of the developed world.

Renewable energy is great. Make it work on the scale we need it to, and I'll sign on.

Some think U.S. policy promotes democracy, but others think aggressive militarism makes more enemies, robs our economy of funds needed for productive investments and does not contribute to our real security.

Well, the ones who think U.S. policy promotes democracy actually really think that democracy promotes democracy, and democracy promotes peace. No democratic nation has ever declared war on another one. Right now what I care about is that the Islamists see that the U.S. isn't going to appease them or merely pretend-slap them on the wrists. They wanted our attention, they got it. "Some people" seem to think that if we just ignore them they'll go away. Well, we pretty much ignored them for the better part of 30 years and they kept trying more and more spectacular acts to get our attention. They did not go away. Like undisciplined children, they kept screaming louder and louder until we put the newspaper down and gave them more than a stern look for once.

I saved this one for last, because it is a question worth answering.

Some folks think supporting our troops mean you have to support the orders they've been given, while others think bringing our troops home safe and alive and providing them with healthcare and education (ed. wtf???) is the best way to support the troops.

Ok. No, supporting the troops doesn't mean you have to support the orders they've been given (or even the mission -- which is a word I noticed they carefully avoided using). But we do expect a few things. We expect you not to accuse them of things they haven't done. We expect you not to judge their actions by the same standards you would expect someone to hold in a quiet restaurant in peacetime. These people are getting shot at with bullets and missiles and grenades. They have split-seconds to react, then split-seconds to react again, and again, and again. We expect you to give them the benefit of the doubt. We expect you to recognize that the vast majority of them are decent human beings who don't torture, rape, or kill indiscriminately. We expect you not to wish them dead so that the other side wins so that you can claim you were "right". And we expect you not to do your utmost to undermine them by aiding and comforting the enemy.

We can talk about the wisdom of starting it later before the next round, but we had that debate and we won. We expect you to talk about it rationally when its all over. Quitting now would be far, far worse than starting it and accomplishing the mission would have been -- even the "some folks" on the other side agree about that -- so we expect you to at the very least respect the fact that we're trying our best so that we only have one enemy prolonging the fight, not two.