Oh, right, I don't agree with everything the rabid liberals say, and that makes me evil/stupid.

Wow! That sounds familiar, except it used to be that if you didn't agree with everything the rabid conservatives say, /that/ made you evil/stupid.

Oh wait! It's both ways. Depending on who you talk to.

My my, let's polarize things a bit more, shall we? Because we all know how much is accomplished when we demonize the people who don’t agree with us and snicker at them with the people who do agree with us. That’s how things get done in this world, right?

You wonder why no one listens to you, why you never get anything accomplished. You have ALL the answers, right? So why on earth doesn’t everyone just shut up, stop spouting THEIR dumb opinions and do exactly what YOU want them to! Wouldn’t that be nice, children?

This is utterly ridiculous and I’m afraid I feel no compulsion to continue a conversation with people who refuse to acknowledge that they are not God. Maybe one day, when you’ve grown tired of being ignored and demonized and laughed at and mocked and isolated, you’ll figure out that there are better ways to convince the people who don’t agree with you that you may have a good point.

Goodbye.

The paragraph that starts off "Does it take courage to protest a war? I sincerely doubt it."

"Obviously it does not take courage to protest, it just takes a fad."

"I think you'd be hard-pressed to say that you ever actually feared for your safety or freedom while criticizing the American government."

Do people beleive these things? What you're basically saying is that because it safe to protest in this country, it is wrong to do so, especially if it somehow offends one's sensibilities. I'll certainly admit that some people protest to go along with the crowd, but what's the bigger "fad"? The protests, or how got into this war in the first place? I don't know if anyone remembers, but we went in to Iraq because we were scared stupid by 9/11, and we were scared stupid enough to beleive any cock-and-bull story that the administration was willing to spin out for us. Where's the courage in that? Where, pray, is the courage in sending other people's sons and daughters to die based on a hunch?

Maybe it doesn't take any courage to protest. I disagree. Let's try a thought experiment. You say you're against this war, that it was a mistake. Now imagine a conversation with a VFW member - he got a purple heart in WW II, he has trhe cap, and the flag pin - the whole nine yards. And he asks you what you think of the war. What are you going to say? Do you think it doesn't take courage to politely and respectfully tell the truth about your beliefs?

"Maybe one day, when you’ve grown tired of being ignored and demonized and laughed at and mocked and isolated..."

How do you know so much about my marriage, kid? Spooky!

But seriously: can you tell me the one about 'supporting our troops' by exposing them to death and dismemberment in a war you supposedly don't support, again? That's so KEWL.

Reading these letters brings home a fact that the left wing of the U.S. has simply become anti-military.

You hate the military and look down on every soldier serving.

This leads you to post stupidity such as

"magine a conversation with a VFW member - he got a purple heart in WW II, he has trhe cap, and the flag pin - the whole nine yards. And he asks you what you think of the war. What are you going to say? Do you think it doesn't take courage to politely and respectfully tell the truth about your beliefs?"

No, it doesn't take courage to politely and respectfully tell the truth about your beliefs to a military vet. If that's your definition of courage, you either have no idea what the term means, or you think every military person is some crazy pyscho that will kill you for disagreeing.

Courage is pulling your buddy back to safety under fire, courage is treating Iraqis with respect when you have no whether they are enemies or not, courage is going into the South during Jim Crow and risking your life to register black voters.

Courage is not talking respectfull to a vet about any war.

It's sad that Choe is still in college and is far more intellectually mature than those "adults" arguing with her.

I'm gonna try some common sense on you here, Chuckles (I hope you don't mind if I call you Chuckles---Xanthro seems so formal), as pointless as some may think it is. It goes like this: who do you think gives more of a damn about the soldiers as living, breathing people---the so-called 'Lefties' who think those poor folks should be spared the indignity of being maimed and killed in Iraq, or TV-tanned burger-butt Hawks like YOU who love the catch-phrases ('serving our country' or 'supporting our troops', etc) but seem to think the actual people getting shredded in that nasty-assed dessert are expendable up to a certain large number (to be determined by you)? Me, I think that one guy dying over there is too many. One chick getting her legs blown off is already not worth it. And I notice no Bush or Cheney cousins have bought the farm in a violent fashion on foreign soil in the last two terms either, but that's another story.

Damn, Chuck, why don't you just go pick some cotton for your masters while you're at it? You and Chloe both! Maybe you two will get an Obedience Award or something! Hell, you already got a Dumbass Lifetime Achievement Certificate!

I'm going to ignore that 'chick' reference in your last comment because I sense that you have a good heart; not only that, I agree with the spirit of your sentiments. Pretending for one moment that the stated rationale (the latest in a long list)for the disastrous invasion of Iraq---to give it the gift of Democracy---is true (as if): since when do 'Conservatives' in America feel that Iraqi Democracy is worth the sacrifice of American lives? When did they start loving Iraq so much? I'm sure most of them couldn't even have told you where it was before we invaded, and I'm fairly certain that many of them still can't. I'm truly baffled by this. Why are these right-wingers so generous with American blood? Is that why they call them 'red-Staters'? Maybe they think it's cheaper than gasoline.

PS it's 'desert' not 'dessert' dear heart. But isn't it wonderful to make a mistake that doesn't cost anyone their life? If you catch my drift.