Hallo Larry, Friday, 03 June, 2005, 09:00:10, you wrote:
...snip... LF> Feel free to protest the administrations positions/policies, but LF> protesting military recruitment is dishonoring those who place their LF> lives on the line in defence of the freedoms we enjoy each day. LF> Military personnel are following the orders of "elected" civilian LF> officials. Military personnel do not have the latitude to dissent LF> (unless those orders are unlawful). ...snip You see, this is the bit with which I have a problem. What dishonors the men and women of our armed forces is going to Iraq and dying for an amply demonstrated and proven lie. The only honor our troops have in a dishonorable war is their own personal honor, and this is nothing if not a dishonorable war. Secondly, our troops are not placing their lives on the line in defense of our freedoms. They are placing their lives on the line in defense of a political and religious ideological position which is at odds with the truth and the facts. This regime may use the language of the religious right but they have gone way beyond simple fundamentalist Christianity into Christian reconstructionism and Christian dominionist dogma which is radical and at its root as evil as anything gets. They are placing their lives on the line for another lie and it is immoral and absolutely outrageous. And lastly brother, it comes to "elected" and I know you mean a free and democratic election. But, when you have Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee to vote for and you do not receive all the facts, all the truth, all the information you cannot make an informed decision and if ones decision is not an informed decision then ones vote is not a real vote. It cannot be free and democratic. The phrases, "...in the interest of national security..." and "...that information is classified..." serve to cover up a lot of evil. The machine is corrupt to the core and rigged to stay that way. Votes do not control the country big money and big politics do, and all the hogs feed from the same trough at the end of the day. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, moderate or radical. Good and honest people do not enter politics without doing one of three things: (a) leaving politics soon, (b) becoming ineffectual or (c) ceasing to be good and honorable people. No exceptions. If folks don't play by their rules they don't play. We have the liberty in this land of liberty to protest and criticize whomever we please. We don't have the liberty to slander or libel folks but no one has immunity from reasonable criticism including the military. If the military fights and dies for these freedoms then how are we disallowed from using them whether someone else likes what we say or not? If people are not free to speak and voice their opinions then we can just chalk up one more lie. No one is dishonored by open and honest criticism or by someone speaking the truth as they see it. Disallowing someone that right would be a dishonor to our service personnel past and present. If freedom and truth is what our country is about then let's have it and if it isn't then let's be up front about what it is: money, power and control. The people of this country, like most other if not all other countries, are good, fair, honest and generous folks. But brother, the government and big business concerns are not the people. They are soulless institutions looking out for their own welfare and to maintain the status quo. Don't confuse the individual with the institution. The recruiter is two things at once. A tool of the government and a person. Criticism of the tool is not necessarily and I would think not even the same as criticism of the person. The honor of the recruiter or the military person comes from the person not from the institution. I understand that this is an emotional thing for former military people but it is something we have to get and be clear on. FYI I have 7 years 9 months and 20 days of honorable service with 2 honorable discharges and 2 extended Nam tours totalling 33.5 months and our unit received the meritorious unit citation of or work there. My service was honorable. My war was not. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Happy Happy, Gustl -- Je mehr wir haben, desto mehr fordert Gott von uns. ******** We can't change the winds but we can adjust our sails. ******** The safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. C. S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters" ******** Es gibt Wahrheiten, die so sehr auf der Straße liegen, daß sie gerade deshalb von der gewöhnlichen Welt nicht gesehen oder wenigstens nicht erkannt werden. ******** Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music. George Carlin ******** The best portion of a good man's life - His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. William Wordsworth _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
