From Stars and Stripes, 2/21/06:
http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=35202
In the ‘wussy’ category
I thought "On Iraq, hold your ground and give parades a rest"
(Opinion, Joel Stein, Jan. 27) was great.
It took a lot of guts to write an opinion that would be seen as
unpatriotic.
I fall under the "wussy" category.
I even took it one step further than bumper stickers and bracelets and
enlisted in the Army Reserve.
I agree that blaming the president is an easy cop-out.
While it’s scary that such an idiot can lead the most powerful nation
in the world, it’s even scarier that the American people continue to
follow a person who has misled us time and time again.
We have been duped into believing that if we wave a flag and show
support for our troops, we are patriotic.
We are told that now is not the time to question the government, since
doing so may break the fragile morale of America’s fighting force.
I do not agree.
How can we expect to make a change if we aren’t willing to ask hard
questions?
With tough questions come tough answers, which is one thing I found
missing from the column.
I didn’t see any suggestions for change.
We’ve hit a point where no matter where you stand on the issue, there
is no clear-cut solution to get out of Iraq.
I also agree with knowingly being a tool for the American agenda.
Unfortunately, recruiters target young, impressionable,
adventure-seeking teenagers for a reason.
You don’t see too many recruiting posters saying "Go to the desert,
kill people and fight for a cowboy."
For now, I’ll have to stay a wussy.
Even worse, I don’t have any solutions to offer either, although I
hope Stein’s piece can show people it’s OK and important to question
everything.
Spc. Michael Sanders
Al Taji, Iraq
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From Stars and Stripes, 3/2/06:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=35407
Also in the ‘wussy’ category
I must be in the "wussy" category as well, because I agree with
everything the writer of "In the ‘wussy’ category" (letter, Feb. 21)
said.
I was too late to read "On Iraq, hold your ground and give parades a
rest" (Opinion, Joel Stein, Jan. 27), but I would probably agree with
what he said.
Although the president is to blame for the terrible state our country
is in, we have to push some of the blame back on ourselves.
He was voted in by a majority of the country.
Of course we are not the ones who squandered a $5 trillion surplus and
turned it into a $7 trillion deficit.
We are also not the ones who misled the American people as well as
lawmakers into making the decision to go into Iraq.
It is our patriotic duty to question the moves our government makes,
especially now, when the president seems to be able to do whatever he
wants with no oversight.
You are not unpatriotic if you voice your disagreement with the
president.
You will not be affecting our morale if you think we should leave
Iraq.
As long as we are in Iraq we will serve as a crutch for the Iraqi
people.
We need to pull out, and let them do what we did over 200 years ago:
fight for and earn their own freedom.
There are other ways to serve your country besides serving in the
military.
You do it every November when you vote, and when you speak up about
what you think our government is doing right or wrong.
When you stop doing either of those, you stop giving us a reason to
serve and fight.
Spc. Jonathan Smith
Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
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What's a wussy? In this case a damned intelligent GI.
Harry
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