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So Jesus hold up a mirror, does he? Nice one Jenna, highly commendable....

How dare you say that I'm putting down their jobs, or that I'm being less than patriotic. I am grateful for what they are doing, but I know many of them (Yes...MANY...not some...I am on several online military communities where I see this everyday) are unsure of why they are there, and don't even know what they are fighting for. They are losing faith in the administration.

Patriotism does not mean worshipping Bush as God, or even having to support a war that we don't believe in. The military men and women are doing what they have been told to do. They are following orders. That doesn't mean they have to believe in it or even like it.

This is not a contest to see who is more patriotic than who. Frankly, I am sick of that. Patriotism means different things to different people. I am sick of the assumption that some of us don't love America enough, or support terrorism, because we are against the Bush administration. Not everyone in the military supports Bush or the war. Sorry if you can't accept that, but it's a fact. I know many people in the military who have expressed this view. Are you going to tell someone who is fighting for your country that they are not patriotic enough, when they are willing to give up their lives for America's protection? What I stated here are concerns that I see in the military community...not only MY concerns, but those of many other people. So if you accuse me of being less than patriotic, you are accusing all of them of the same thing.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it is morally treasonable to the American public.� - Teddy Roosevelt

I suppose Mr. Roosevelt should be considered unpatriotic. Well, if that's the case, I'm honored to be in his company.

Who says I have to support it? Why do we have the process of voting if we -have- to support the government? That's not what democracy is about. If you agree with your government, you vote. If you don't agree with your government, you vote.

Have you any idea how many USA and UK servicemen have gone AWOL and deserted since this sad and sorry mess began....? The departments (of both countries) are keeping decidedly quiet....and even not bothering to chase many of them up....

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0516-02.htm

Babyquacker- you are way out of line telling somebody whose husband is in the military that she ought to be more patriotic. You have NO idea what it's like to have to worry about your husband going off to fight a very dangerous war.

Perhaps you are not familiar with the number of casualties that have been occurring over there - I know Fox News and Rush Limbaugh won't talk about them. As of today, there have been 2799 American deaths and at least 21077 wounded Americans since the war began.

My husband joined the military in 1993. I know that he feels betrayed by a government who consistantly lied and deceived the American people into backing him on an illegal and immoral war. You should read "State of Denial" by Bob Woodward, and then come back and talk about how great our leaders are.

Support the troops, but just don't support the people who are sending them over there to get killed and maimed.

Drae99, please tell your husband thank you from all of us who neither support the leaders of this country, nor the war they engaged this country in.

Jan, thanks for your support. I'm glad SOMEBODY gets it.

Now that I've had some time to calm down from my apoplectic rage...some further thoughts...

I give up my husband to the US military...I sacrifice him for the greater good...knowing that he could die because of it. I share him with the government. I have deep respect for his job, and for what all the men and women do in the Armed Forces. I resent anyone who thinks supporting our troops is the same as supporting the war and the president. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

If you support the president - GREAT! I don't. But that's why America is great. BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO. And I don't have to, because my husband and others fight for my right not to.

If you support the war in Iraq - fabulous! I don't. But that doesn't mean that I disrespect what the military is doing there. They are there because they go where the government tells them to go, whether they agree with it or not. And that takes far more courage than anything else I can imagine.

Most people can only show their patriotism by hanging up a flag or putting a yellow ribbon magnet on their car. All of us in the military community go far beyond that, and I don't appreciate anyone telling me that I'm not supportive enough or patriotic enough. My husband, by the way, thinks I'm supporting him just fine.

Drea99, Glad to hear from a fellow military wife. Welcome. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I don't think that there is any honour in this war, and history will not deal kindly with the service personel who fought in it anymore than they did with those who fought in Vietnam!

Except for the bad apples in the military and there are always some in any large group of people, the members deserve and have earned our respect and honor. As a group and individually. History will be unkind to our present leaders, but I doubt seriously that military personnel will even be mentioned. They rarely are.

Thankfully, most people in the US seem to back the troops, unlike in the Vietnam War. I think people learned lessons from that war about how veterans were treated when they got back home - I haven't heard of any mistreatment of Iraq veterans when they've returned home. I think people are realising that the government and the troops are not the same thing.