Today I had a conversation with one of my brothers that lasted longer than any we have had in quite some time. I was happy to speak to him, too, and hope to have many, many more conversations with him.
Somewhere towards the end of our conversation the subject turned to Iraq and the tragic loss of life of our American servicemen and the rather large numbers of Iraqi people who are losing their lives in the struggle for their freedom. Those words are of course my words and not my brothers. Maybe we can speak on the subject further another day so that I can be careful not to assume what his opinions are.
I do know what my opinions on the issues our being in Iraq bring up, though I am careful not to share them too readily. The main reason why I am careful is that I know that what I have to say is simply my opinion and nothing else. I also realize that what is going on there is far more complex than anyone can imagine and to speak on such things I would want to be very respectful.
One can read many things on the internet and some of those things that I have read (I seek out the positive things as often as possible) speak of the freedom the people have been experiencing amidst the terror that surrounds them; terror that is occuring not because the US led coalition is there, but terror because there are radicals there that are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the people from being free. It is easy for us here in the USA to be critical because my generation and the generation of my children has been one of ease, of having, and of not having to wait for anything; so much so that there are few that are willing to train themselves to wait for future rewards, to work towards future goals, and to be willing to sacrifice for any cause at all, let alone a cause that has been smeared with visciousness from the inside out here in the USA.
But I have grown and I have matured, in many respects way too late for redeeming things that I have lost. I have learned, however, that there is always more to a story than what I hear and there are some things that are worth dying for.
The Iraqi's that desperately want a free nation are quite clear about that and are laying down their lives daily. We cannot imagine at all what it is like to lose innocent people to terror on a regular basis. The terror of 9/11 was not brought on ourselves nor was it a conspiracy perpetrated on us by our Presidential Administration. What it was was a taste of the disdain and hate that radical Islamists have for us which sees none of us as innocent at all. They have the dedication, the vision, and the patient to wait out our 'I want it yesterday' mentality and they will. What we skeptics and critics need is to take a lesson from those in our military who are willing to serve in Iraq on what has become a battlefield in the war on terror. Make no mistake: we come home and we subject the Iraqi people to slaughter in the millions. Let us also realize that even if we come home and 'mind our own business' it will not keep out or away those who hate us and want to see us and our way of lfie destroyed.
By the way, they won't stop even then. They will not stop till they control the USA with the strong arm of terror that is their way. So wake up people and let us become the United States of America once again!
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