So after September 11th there was an amazing outpour of charity and unity amongst Americans. We allowed President Bush to pass the Patriot Act, bomb the hell out of Afghanistan, and start a war with Iraq. But why? Why did we allow the government to throw away our freedoms? Why did we suddenly give a shit about Iraq, a country that hardly anyone in the world cared about prior to 9/11? Many say it was blind Patriotism. Well this is a very scary thought to me, to know that our government could use fear as a tactic to get us to rally around any decision they seem to think is good for the country. I remember after 9/11 the terror alert system was created so we could know how safe things would be that day. I remember the fear I felt, as many Americans did, when it was orange. And I remember eventually being pissed off about it when I saw nothing come of the alerts. I also remember being told, “We received a threat today. We do not know from where this threat comes or who, we do not know when it will happen, but we know there is a threat.” Which is when I started to get really pissed at my government. Then Michael Moore came along with his infamous Fahrenheit 9/11. This movie finally seemed to open people’s eyes as to what blind patriotism is, and how dangerous it is.
Well blind patriotism is still alive and well today. It is one of the few explanations I make for those that still support the Iraq war. And leads me to my real reason for this response: Demonstrators Support Charged Marines. I usually try to stay away from making opinions about a case until it goes through the legal system, but this article got to me a bit. Many of the sound bites used were people supporting the 8 troops in this case. Why, because they support our troops and what they do in Iraq.
My favorite quote,
“My son is over in Iraq right now, but I would hate to think that he would hesitate to shoot. No matter what these guys did to survive this war I just hope the can survive our justice system.”
I wish I could hear this woman tell that same thing to the Iraqi parents of the thousands of children that have been killed in bombing raids and by accidental fire, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If you read an article on the same issue from another publisher, you can find people that really think they are just innocent, but many just support our troops, and that is their reasoning. It kind of threw me off. Even the defense attorney seemed to state that he was defending the actions of his client, because he was young, instead of going off to college he joined the Marines, he watched as 19 personnel in his unit died, and two died within his hands. Well I gotta say I certainly feel for this young man and his family, and the family of the 19 other troops that passed away in Iraq. But it still brings up the issue, are war conditions a cause of murder, or a justifiable cause for murder? I answer this question always with a resounding NO! But there are others that seem to think differently. This issue was even discussed on DOF’s blog: What do Soldiers Have to do to Stay Sane? Well there may not be much for them to do in Iraq, but showing a lack of multi-cultural understanding through a stupid video, should not be one of them. And dragging someone into the street, tying their hands, shooting them, and then placing an AFK on the body should also not be one of them.
If the 8 men are innocent of the charges then fine. But don’t support someone or say, “I believe they are innocent, because of the violence and everything else they have seen over there.” That, to me just shows stupidity. Nothing can justify ethnocentricity but stupidity, and nothing justifies murder except self-defense.
Who needs television when you have this sort of entertainment? Robby, you’ve just given my boyfriend and me the priceless gift of unrestrained laughter. We wouldn’t dream of removing you from this “mailing list” for a second!