"I Support the Troops, but..." Deep in the Heart of Darkness; Dispatches From Behind the Lines in Blue State America, Part I

"I support the troops," she said reflexively, "...but...we all know that the people that join the military are the type that want to kill people. It is not as if there are artists, writers or thinkers in the military." Thus began my conversation with X. I responded, "X, you have known me for years. Do I look like someone that wants to kill people?" "Does my father, a career sailor, fit that description? How about my brother, a career naval officer? You've met all of us. Do we fit that description?" "You're different,"  she said, "You were drafted." "Drafted? The draft ended in the mid-70's. I served from 1983-87. My father was also a volunteer and so is my brother," I said. "And my roommate in the army is now a literature teacher and writer, just like you were. People in the military come from all over and are as diverse as the rest of the country, no more no less"  Stony silence ensued.

This exchange took place after the funeral of Mrs. Opinionator's grandmother in Philadelphia. Aside from my family, all the attendees were Blue-staters and proud of it. It was but the first of what was to be a day of enlightening quotes from liberals. I have thought all along that the "I support the troops, not the war" mantra was a load of manure. Now, between her comments and those of several others I listened to that day, I had my confirmation. It is blurted out as a way of providing the speaker with protection when their next comment is a vile as the one X made to me. In my mind, this recently retired teacher was rehashing the stereotypes my father heard when he returned from Vietnam. She might as well have called our troops baby-killers.

She went on to say we had no business in Iraq and that Bush had lied about WMD's. If that is the case, I laughingly told her, Bill Clinton and John Kerry were also liars. No response. Facts have a hard time penetrating the shell of Bush-Hatred. "If Saddam wanted to kill his own people it was none of our business," she said (a common theme that day). I responded that it was that same attitude that allowed Adolph Hitler to exterminate Jews. After all, in many cases, they were his citizens. Isolationists of the era said the same things she was now saying. As she is Jewish, as is my family, this finally provoked a reaction. "That is not the same!" she said. "He invaded other countries." "So has Saddam," I politely replied. Moreover, I told her, if someone had taken him out proactively before he could invade Poland and the rest of Europe, we might have saved millions upon millions of lives, especially Jews.

X did not have much more to say on this subject. While it appears that I was vigorous in my responses, I was actually very reserved. After all, this was my mother-in-law's best friend. Mostly I sat back on my heels and listened to her rant and rave about Bush, the War in Iraq, how Rove should go to jail, she could not wait for the indictments to be handed down that day (she was sure they would get Libby, Rove and Cheney), and more. Once in awhile she would get outrageous and I stepped in with my responses. Later, when Y entered the picture, it was time to engage. But that, my friends, is another Dispatch.

Linked to Open Post at Mudville Gazette. Thanks also to the following Blogs for generously opening up their pages to me. Please stop by their sites and take a look around:

Mudville Gazette
10ft2ft.com
Adam's Blog
BIG DOG's WEBLOG
Bloggin Outloud
Blue State Conservatives, The
Caos Blog
Choose Life
Conservative Cat
Don Surber
euphoricreality.net
GM's Corner
NIF
Oblogatory Anecdotes
Point Five
Real Teen- Right on the Right
Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho
Something... and Half of Something
Stop The ACLU
The Political Teen
TMH's Bacon Bits
Right on the Right

Comments

[wilsonkolb]

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[wilsonkolb]

Fascinating comment. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a Republican relative about three weeks ago.

"I'm not against gays or anything," he said, "but I really don't understand why they have to tell anyone that they're homosexuals. I really can't blame people for getting mad and wanting to beat the crap out of them."

I said, but Joe, isn't your brother gay? If I recall correctly, he's been with his partner for 14 years. Why should he have to hide who he is?

"I don't talk about it with my brother and I never will," he said. "I'm a Christian and I hate what he does. But it's all going to even out, because the minute either of them dies we're going to seize the property."

That was pretty much the end of my attempt to convince Joe of anything. I sat back and listened to him rant and rave about how the queers are detroying America and how George W. Bush will set things right, and how once we return to a Christian America those filthy bastards will be on the run.

I would interject ever now and then, but I decided discretion was the better part of valor when dealing with hateful men of God.