Monday, September 24, 2007

Honor The Warrior, Not The War

By
Jan Allan Rhuman

From the Editor, www.vetspeak.org: In response to a posting to the editor@pomeradonews.com, my friend Jan Rhuman wrote the following. He has asked me to post his response on our pages as well. WH

Dear Sir/Madame,
I am respectfully submitting the letter below in response to Mr. Robinsons’ letter regarding “Those who oppose Bush, oppose the troops” of Sept. 20. I am aware that it is 485 words, almost twice your preferred limit, but feel that the topic of “Free Speech” in our public discourse is, at this point in time, of critical importance to all Americans. Edit as I did time and again this was as short and concise as I could be. I hope that you find it worthy of publication. Thank you.
Sincerely, JAR:

I’m compelled to respond to Mr. Timothy D. Robinsons’ letter “Those who oppose Bush, oppose troops” in the September 20 issue.

In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. As a United States Marine who served two tours in South Viet Nam, back to back, on the ground in I Corps from Sept. 1966 to May 1968, I too am “someone with military experience”.

I’m reminded of the saying, by Voltaire, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” A sentiment I took to heart when I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America. Fredrick Douglas said, “Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants.” Mr. Robinsons’ statement is an attempt to marginalize and question the patriotism of those with whom he disagrees and it leads me to question if he has ever read the United States Constitution that he swore to protect and defend and if he has, does he believe it to be an out dated and passé rambling of old fools?

I recall and take solace in what these Founding Fathers, of this great nation, said so long ago: “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse” and “The truth is, all men having power ought to be mistrusted”, James Madison. “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”, Benjamin Franklin. And a more contemporary patriot was right on target when he said, “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of the men who goes into battle”, General Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf.

Questioning authority and speaking truth to power is as American as Apple Pie. I fully support our troops. It breaks my heart to watch the news night after night after night and to see the faces of those beautiful young men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for this misguided and failed foreign policy blunder.

While George W. Bush may be the President and thus “The Commander in Chief” I do not support this President and I did not and do not support his illegal preemptive war in Iraq, in violation of all international laws. Quite frankly he’s arrogant, cocky and an embarrassment and unfortunately dangerously deadly for the world, for America and for all U. S. Military personal. I wonder if we, as a people, will we ever truly understand that freedom isn’t free and that “The Price of Liberty is eternal Vigilance”, Thomas Jefferson. I choose to “honor the warrior, not the war” and certainly, not this President.

http://www.vetspeak.org/