In response to Devika Wickremesinghe’s opinions regarding the supporters of U.S. action in Iraq as ‘narrowminded [sic]’ and ‘ignorant,’ I have one suggestion: ‘go get some respect’ (‘Pro-war sentiment narrowminded [sic], ignorant,’ March 24, pg. 9). Yes, I am a Republican, I drive a SUV, I own a gun and my family is rich. Apparently, this makes me a monster that wants to destroy the world with my imperialism. Our political process functions in such a way that when we put a leader into power with whom we do not agree, we replace him with someone more in tune with our own sentiments.
We may have placed Saddam Hussein in power, but his totalitarian regime has not only destroyed the economy of a country, it has murdered dissidents in his own homeland. If you don’t think this is someone who should be removed, perhaps you should think of what it would be like if our government acted in the same manner (your protesting would have no doubt been a little more ‘heated’). So we elected a president who is going to remove this tyrant. I find it hard to imagine any American with a conscience who is not in favor of removing Saddam.
I also find it unfortunate that our country is one of the few that is willing to take the initiative and prevent a rogue from unjustly killing more innocents. Of course, no one wants to see American soldiers die in this conflict, but our voluntary military has accepted this burden rather than sit back in a homeland to be picked off a few at a time by terrorist attacks.
As for the history, it could just be my ‘half-baked’ idea or maybe because I’m a ‘slacker hippie,’ but I thought Osama bin Laden was Saudi Arabian, not an Afghan. So much for the ‘millions of educated and intelligent people who are anti-war.’ Bowling for Columbine? How about a director that was booed off stage at the Oscars by liberal Hollywood types for his anti-Bush and anti-war comments?
Enough with the banter; now it is time for a call. The time for protesting has passed. The time for supporting your fellow Americans who are fighting for the freedom of the Iraqi people is at hand. The one in four Americans left who still oppose this conflict should support their peers or keep their mouths shut don’t forget that our troops are fighting for your very right to be able to protest.
Go ahead, Devika, question my patriotism. Patriotism is respecting your country and its troops, not whining while cowering behind the First Amendment.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
