Journal Entry

:: Good Commentary ::

Recommended reading on some of the facts related to this war from the people at Spinsanity.

Of particular note to me are the facts about the oil supply, which has been cited by many on the left as the big reason for war. I'm not convinced that control of Iraq's oil has nothing to do with this war, but I feel affirmed knowing that the facts point to a slightly less voraciously conspiracy-oriented theory.

There are also interesting bits on public opinion which are heartening to me, knowing that people aren't just blindly following whatever the president says. Most people, prior to the announcement of war yesterday, were in favor of going to war on the condition that the UN approved it first. That hasn't happened, and of course now that we're in the middle of it public opinion has again changed to supporting our people over there, which they absolutely deserve.

Whatever the course of action chosen by our leadership (and make no mistake, I do not agree with our current state of affairs), our men and women in the military deserve our support. I do have to wonder if things would have turned out differently if anyone in this country's high-level leadership (with the exception of Colin Powell) had actually served in a war at any time. As I understand it, none of them has. And no, National Guard is not the same as overseas service, folks.

One more thing that's bothering me. I feel like our administration has gotten a lot of breaks in the past several years. People in the legislature and the press have been supportive and unquestioning as a matter of course, just because "they just took office", or "we've just suffered this major tragedy", or "we're preparing for/in the middle of a war", and just for that reason we should support our them without another word. You're either in support of what Bush and the rest say, or you're with the terrorists/third column/Iraq/Saddam Hussein/etc.

Now, I realize that we as a people need to band together when we're facing adversity in whatever form it takes. I, however, am extremely displeased to see people lose their right to an attorney, their rights to privacy, perhaps their right to get an abortion safely (and yet somehow lose their ability to get birth control--this isn't a problem domestically, but in our foreign policy), their right to affordable health care, their right to have a job that pays the bills and supports the family, and so on.

Freedom is something every living creature deserves. But there are some human beings who have the power to wheedle it away from us a bit at a time in the interest of security, or any number of other vapid motives. That's not what our military is fighting for. They are not fighting this ugly war to protect the rights of the powerful to slowly bleed away the rights from the less powerful.

Questioning authority doesn't mean giving authority a hard time just because for kicks. Those of us who are questioning this country's motives are not freedom haters, we're not terrorists, we don't give comfort to our enemies, and we do not take our freedom for granted. To suggest otherwise is at best insulting.

Now that I've got that out of my system, it's probably time to address some of the comments I've gotten recently.