How it's possible to be anti-war, but not be anti-soldier

This article, blogged about by Jen at Nonsense Verse, does an amazingly good job describing how it's possible to be anti-war but not anti-soldier. This is a great counterpoint to those obnoxious hawks who assume that all anti-war people must by default wish harm upon all 'our sons and daughters in the military.'

This war, then, is a direct slap in the face, an insult not just to progressives and liberals but to the country, and to the very soldiers themselves. I hereby kneel down in my liberal hippie gay-friendly S.F. cocoon and pray to my godless tofu-lovin' universe that they don't die in oily vain.

Yes.



My sister's boyfriend is overseas with the military. So is my friend Ali, who was just deployed to Turkey. These are good people, kind people, people that I care about and don't want hurt.



As the journalist of the above-referenced article persuasively notes, these people are likely about to risk their lives not for our freedom and safety, but for the 'free enterprise' and 'corporate security' of big oil companies and various multinational corporations.



I don't care about what weapons Saddam may or may not have, may or may not have destroyed. I only know that I feel much, much more afraid of both Ashcroft's assault on our liberties, and the undoubtable and long-term consequences of our country's cowboy attitude. I desperately fear not only alienation from our allies but more importantly horrific retribution from those who already hate us and will be mobilized more firmly and dangerously against us.