Thoughts on War...

I hate war. Yet there's been a part of me that has not responded well to war protesting. I just finished a book by Karen Kingsbury in which her conservative views of the war come shining through, but I felt myself agree with her on a lot, though not everything.

Coming from a military family I view combat a little differently. Yes, I used to be embarrassed when my dad stood a little too straight during the national anthem during high school basketball games, but I also remember him showing my brother and I during the Gulf War where Turkey was on a globe and that he might have to go there. I thank God that he didn't end up having to go, but he still would have gone proudly.

I know I've shared frustration over the military, espeically their medical system (which is why I will never support HMOs or permanent forms of government-sponsered health care) but there is something about growing up and going to visit dad on the base and seeing everyone in uniform that still instills a great deal of respect for the armed forces.

This book caused me to sob in a way I haven't over a book in a really, really long time. I know there is extreme loss and I can't say how I'd react if a family member of mine was killed in battle. I know civillians lose their lives everyday due to this war. I don't know what to think about that. It's not like I'm some war-hungry, "America is the best country ever" kind of person. Shoot, I could be happy living in Canada!

I admit, I've questioned how someone could claim to support a person and then hate the very thing they were doing. How could people rally for our troops and then protest the very thing the troops are doing? Do you only support those troops who are just taking orders or do you also support the ones who beleive in the cause and enlisted because of the war? I'm still trying to process that.

I want our troops home. I also beleive I could very well get tons of crap from people for writing this, but these are issues I struggle with and they are valid.