It's obvious that there are some folks who think the anti-war stuff is just "for kicks," or that anti-war bloggers are just being "contrarian for the sake of it."
But for me, it just comes down to a consistent interpretation of classical liberalism, individualism, and natural rights. Individuals are infinitely valuable; our lives mean something and nobody can tell us we don't have a right to them. But the other side of the token is that individuals are responsible for what they do; we don't excuse private crime because of bad circumstances like poor families-- so just because the troops were deceived doesn't excuse them unjustifiably killing people.
Either it's OK to maim Afghani toddlers to pursue the state's interests or it isn't. Feel free to take your stand, but don't sidetrack with the patriotism/nationalism stuff. The state loves to see its subjects "unite" on war and resort to those silly platitudes, but deep down, we all know well how irrational they are.
As for hating the troops? Puhlease. That would imply a hatred of the guy who got most of us into this movement.
As for being a radical? I can only speak for myself, but guilty as charged. I'm against murder.
If you'd look back in history, however, (especially racism, genocide, and slavery) it's been the "radicals," rather than the "wusses," that have made change -- while the moderates acquiesced to moral obscenities from the state.
And what of the idea that every American is "beholden" to the troops? Spoken like a true socialist. Since the American people are forced to pay for the military's food, weapons, wars, and healthcare, can it really be said that we are beholden to them? Like defense, no one can live without food, but that doesn't mean you have to worship the pizza man. And unlike the pizza man, the troops are paid with coerced salary and thus -- to the consistent capitalist -- clearly beholden to the regular folks.
As a footnote, some of the troops deserve your respect and some don't. They are individuals like everyone else.
Two (of many) great parts of this post:
"Like defense, no one can live without food, but that doesn't mean you have to worship the pizza man."
"As a footnote, some of the troops deserve your respect and some don't. They are individuals like everyone else."
Correct in both cases.
I'd have to say that quite a few people in the anti-war camp do come off as being contrarian for the sake of it. I engaged a couple in debate recently, after they made very aggressive statements about Israel's internal and foreign policies towards policing. I reminded them that Israel's opponents were not innocent victims, for the most part, any more or less than the Israeli citizens who suffer terrorist attacks, and that one needs to look at the problem from both sides. For this I was labeled a white racist with an insatiable bloodlust for Muslim peoples.
I find that many in the anti-war camp tend to be extremely anti-Israel, to almost a fundamentalist position. I have a lot of problems with the way Israel carries out its policies, but the other side is not free from guilt in the situations we've seen. Nothing in Israel's reactions to its situation is out of line with anything we have come to expect from any other nation in the world.
The same goes for Afghanistan. I think the occupation is a terrible thing, and pretty much everything about this "war" is absurdly wrong. However, I would likely have supported the use of a Barbary pirates type scenario by sending special forces into the mountains to root out the problem.
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