politics nearby

[jay]

Getting in to work wasn't much of a problem... the place is half-empty, lots of people must be telecommunting. Cars were shunted off to the side, looped around Space Camp, and then back across Moffett Blvd. to the Ames side entrances. There were only 2 cars in line in front of me, and a very bored guard waved me through without picking my car for random search.

I was a bit annoyed on the way in that someone had tied yellow ribbons to the freeway overpass over US 101, leading in to work. I resisted the impulse to pull over and remove them... going to work is problematic enough without having to inadvertently pass through a pro-war exhibition en route.

Comments

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Our troops aren't the bad guys. The Powers That Be wh send the there, are at best misguided, but the ordinary soldiers and sailors don't deserve the blame here. Yeah, maybe if they all refused to go, that would be a sufficient wake-up call to the higher echelons. But your average 18-22 year old grunt just isn't going to take that sort of initiative. Not when they've been trained to follow orders. Not when they have spouses and small children depending on them. Not when this is what they're counting on to train them for a job, or pay for college. Not when they have no way of knowing how many others would join them. Support the troops. Work for peace.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Hmm... granted, they're volunteers, not reluctant draftees. Media coverage has likened the current attacks on Iraq to the German blitzkrieg of 1940, in its rapidity and ferocity. So by analogy, I wonder how a Frenchman or Belgian have viewed the oncoming German forces, back then... would they have just shrugged off the troops as "just following orders" and blamed The Powers That Be?

[geekchick]

Godwin invoked in four easy steps, woohoo.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Easy, because the analogy is (for once) actually relevant...

[geekchick]

You know that I agree that we should not be in Iraq, but I find your generalizations about the "bad guys" and comparisons to Nazis to be disturbing at best.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I didn't have time to follow up on this sooner. Here is a bit of writing (not mine) that perhaps clarifies the difference between supporting the troops and supporting the war. See, for me, it's not about supporting a bunch of nameless grunts. It's about supporting Peeny and Isaac and Rachel's dad. And Halston and Hayden's dad. And Laura's husband. And Jessica's fiancé. And my HS classmate Lee. And my preacher's children who are in the Navy. And all the other people I know who are deployed or could be, and all the people who work with them. It means wanting them home safe. It means wanting peace.