Operation E-book Drop: For the Troops

[bjrnfrdnnd]

Originally Posted by Patricia

Neither of my relatives actually want to hurt anyone. If their economic circumstances were different then they would probably make different choices.

That is an interesting thought. I suppose this is an argument that explains why so many people of lower economic power join the army; in my opinion, it cannot be a moral argument at all. If implicitely states that these persons, by joining the army, hope to better their economic situation at the expense of possible innocent victims (collateral damage). I sincerely hope that most people joining the army, aside from economic motivations, do also think that the army they join is serving a greater good; and if they find that it is not doing so, they should leave the army in spite of the economic consequences. Therefore, I do think that soldiers are responsible for the wars they are leading, and should always be able to defend any given war on a moral basis.

[geneven]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

No, we do not. I sleep peacefully in bed because of my faith in God. The line you quote is nothing but a cheap way of papering over the horrors of war, of making yourself feel better about the atrocities that were committed throughout the history of the US: the slaughter of the indigenous population, the enslavement of millions of people of African descent, the conquest of half of Mexico, the usurpation of the remnants of the Spanish empire, and various wars fought to ensure US economic and political hegemony in Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere.

This is a vast oversimplification. I hope that when the Roman Empire is mentioned, you go on and on about the crimes of the Romans and forget entirely about the benefits Rome brought to the world. But I doubt it; I think that you are specializing in building a brief against one country.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

No, we do not. I sleep peacefully in bed because of my faith in God. The line you quote is nothing but a cheap way of papering over the horrors of war, of making yourself feel better about the atrocities that were committed throughout the history of the US: the slaughter of the indigenous population, the enslavement of millions of people of African descent, the conquest of half of Mexico, the usurpation of the remnants of the Spanish empire, and various wars fought to ensure US economic and political hegemony in Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere.

I feel so awful that you are forced to live in such a country.

Where you are free to spew your beliefs and pray to your "God", whoever that may be, without the fear of being beheaded, or jailed.

[mpd123]

I sleep peacefully in bed because of my faith in God.


and how many people have died over the centuries because they chose not to belive in your god.

[bjrnfrdnnd]

You _can_ sleep faithfully because you believe in god, irrespective of any
other fact. You might still get murdered, or murder, it is irrelevant to your peaceful sleep. You might even be more likely to be murdered, or might be more likely to murder someone else, because of your faith - and still sleep peacefully because of this faith. It just has nothing to do with absolutely nothing else. It just means "having peace of mind because I believe in some entity that I believe is stronger than anything else and that I believe is still interested in me".

[mpd123]

it really grips my s**t when people get on there soap box and start waving the bible around.
nevermind that the catholic church is corrupt,holds a fortune in money and land around the world and is a haven for pederasts who use their position to prey on children and are then protected by the church when exposed.

if you want to help the poor and needy give them the vaticans money there is enough of it.

[bjrnfrdnnd]

Actually,
I am an atheist. I just made an observation. I don't think anyone around here waved the bible around. Not even the original poster who mentioned god. It was just a manner of saying that she didn't appreciate an over-aggressive army, while other posters wanted to make her feel thankful for that.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by bjrnfrdnnd

I sincerely hope that most people joining the army, aside from economic motivations, do also think that the army they join is serving a greater good; and if they find that it is not doing so, they should leave the army in spite of the economic consequences.

There was a guy who tried doing that (leaving because he didn't think it served the greater good) over and over. The Army wouldn't let him, though. I think you might have heard of him? He visited Fort Hood a couple of days ago.

[bjrnfrdnnd]

I am really interested to learn the exact circumstances: how dearly he wanted to leave the army, why the army didn't want to let him go, what the regulations are. I am sure, many informations concerning all this will turn up in the aftermath of this catastrophe.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

No, we do not. I sleep peacefully in bed because of my faith in God.

Don't see how you can do that -- God has been and is the cause of many deaths and many wars. The bible is full of war stories and killing done in the name of god and at the behest of god. Many of the deaths currently happening that you abhor are being done in the name of god. Doesn't seem like a peaceful sleep to me.

[bjrnfrdnnd]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Don't see how you can do that -- God has been and is the cause of many deaths and many wars. The bible is full of war stories and killing. Many of the deaths currently happening that you abhor are done in the name of god. Doesn't seem like a peaceful sleep to me.

Actually, if you _could_ see how he does that, you would probably be a faithful believer ;-) It's one of the greatest paradoxes I perceive in those who believe. They somehow manage to bring all these loose ends together...

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

You can't blame the war on the soldiers who are sent by our leaders to fight. If you are against the war, criticize your leaders. The only thing you should be saying to the troops is: Can't wait until you're home!

Amen.

Since the "Support our Troops" ribbons first appeared, I have always added "bring them home". I have never believed in the "Fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" hype. But then, I'm from the Vietnam era where we learned there is a significant difference between those doing and those commanding.

But then, Rhadin is also right: its because of them we can have differences of opinion without fear of disappearing in the night.

[CallOfCth'reader]

Originally Posted by Mitchll

"Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Where does that quote come from? I've heard/read it before somewhere.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by CallOfCth'reader

Where does that quote come from? I've heard/read it before somewhere.

Orwell. Google is your friend.

Wilfred Owen was the one who said "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (well, not exactly the first.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timelin...ic_deployments

[Donnageddon]

Press Release:

Donnageddon has an extremely strong opinion on <support the troops, give them ebooks> but he only shares those opinions on <ebook troop support> blogs where he has no pang of guilt for jumping down the throat of the numbskull <person with an opposing viewpoint> and pulling out their appendix.

Have a nice day