[trash-talk] support the troops

[Shirley Vixen]

No one joins the army without considering that they may fight a war and die 
for their country. You choose to joint the army and therefore you fight the 
battles that your country decides for you. Surely people are aware of this 
before they join the armed forces. Therefore to me, it would seem bizarre 
for someone to "opt out" of something in the name of integrity or belief - 
belief has been dictated by that from above and by registering with the 
forces, a choice is made.

You kill because you pledged to kill in the name of your country and whether 
or not you fully believe in every single little thing that it involves, you 
do it because you made that choice when you joined.

This year, a man campaigned desperately against Tony Blair claiming that he 
murdered his son by sending him to Iraq. While I understand that grief 
causes us to do desperate things and that I do not know how I would react in 
such a situation, it still must be noted that his son chose to join the army 
and therefore he gave himself to fight for whatever they decided to fight 
for. A soldier (in a country such as the US or the UK where subscription is 
voluntary) does not pick which fight to join, he entrusts himself to greater 
authority and fights as they wish. That is the nature of the armed forces 
surely.

The war in Iraq is one of many battles and activities that a soldier will 
probably be faced with and they don't pick or choose. They've made their 
commitment and so they fulfil it.


I know I shall be attacked in some respect so I'll just highlight here that 
I have not mentioned whether I oppose or support the war. That is 
insignificant to what I am trying to say above.