Somebody Else's War

I don't agree with this editorial, in that we live in a nation with a volunteer military and I don't think it is wrong to leave the fighting to the military. Were there a draft, particularly one with a lot of loopholes for the rich and well-connected, there would be a lot more merit to the argument.

At the same time, I'm not comfortable with the manner in which this war is being pitched to the U.S. public. I think the author's personal connection to the war makes his attitude very understandable:

I am now the father of a young man who has far more character than I ever had. I joined the Marines because I had to; he signed up after college because he felt he ought to. He volunteered for an elite unit and has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. When I see images of Americans in the war zones, I think of my son and his friends, many of whom I have come to know and deeply respect. When I opened this newspaper yesterday and read the front-page headline, "9 G.I.'s Killed," I didn't think in abstractions. I thought very personally.

Remembering the giddy reaction from the media at being "embedded" and getting 'really cool" footage from the front, and considering the disconnect between the average American and this war (with the President's wartime advice - "shop 'till you drop"), sometimes it seems like "support for the war" is about on par with support for the local professional sports team. It's heartfelt, but there's no real connection between those doing the fighting and those cheering from the sidelines, and perhaps this makes it too easy to vilify everybody else.

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