Via Bloodless Coup, via CNN, who happens to read the Hartford Courant, apparently:
The Hartford Courant, citing records obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act and more than 100 interviews of families and military personnel, reported numerous cases in which the military failed to follow its own regulations in screening, treating and evacuating mentally unfit troops from Iraq.
Supporting our troops and supporting this war (even moreso the execution of it) seem impossible to reconcile.
We’ve dinged the wingnut bloggers of the world before for their willful ignorance regarding troop abuse and death, as well as not admitting to themselves that, at the very least, a sizable minority of troops do not want to be there.
Factor in that the 101st Fighting Keyboardists don’t want to fight either (“I’ve got a _family_ so I can’t fight!”) and it seems such a small leap for them to make to realize that this war sucks for everyone involved — especially soldiers who happen to have in their life a wife or kid or parent or cousin or anyone who might see them as more than a ‘I’ piece on a Risk board.
So why won’t they make it?
In the liberal world, “support our troops” means have compassion for them, fight to get them out of an unwinnable battle, and stand up against the abuses the military inflicts on them. We don’t put up with renegades who abuse prisoners and the like, but _in theory_ neither does the military.
In the conservative world, “support our troops” means do not question the men who have sent them to battle. Think of them only as Noble Warriors, lone men who would gladly die for their country. Think of the casualties as people who desired this honorable death instead of people who might’ve given anything to be at home in front of the TV like you.
The liberal focus is almost always on broad humanization, making real the lives involved. Whether it be a woman who could be forced to turn zygote cell clumps into a lifelong dependent against her will or soldiers getting hurt/killed/mistreated, we try to put ourselves in the shoes of those most effected.
Conservatives don’t make that extra leap.
Just look at Senator Tom Coburn’s defense of outlawing abortion even in cases of rape. He said that, because his great-grandmother was raped, “Under the mores we live under today, my lineage wouldn’t exist.” “My” lineage. _Tom_ wouldn’t exist. He doesn’t even feel the need to offer a further explanation, and that lays bare the key component to conservative thinking: the self. All that matters is me, what helps or protects me, even retroactively.
This is nothing new to express, but Coburn really went out of his way to make it obvious, much like the wingnut who said _he_ couldn’t fight because of _his_ family.
A wingnut supports this war because he thinks it will make him and his immediate clan safer. He does not want to die or live in fear, and if fighting a war in Iraq or Iran will help stop terrorism and thus decrease his own odds of dying or being sacred, then he is gung-ho to the end. And he “supports” the efforts of those who are actually implementing this supposed safeguard because they are increasing the odds he will not die. He would not choose to die or live in fear to help others reduce their fears in this way, or he would be over there at least in a civilian capacity. This is probably because, at some level, he subconsciously knows the real danger from _not_ fighting this war is much lower than not fighting, say, Hitler.
Still, even if it’s only like a .05% reduction in fear or chance of death, the conservative wants it for himself, so he sends the faceless masses to actually die and live in very real fear over in Iraq. But he doesn’t see it that way. They’re in the army, so every single one of them _want_ to fight. All the soldiers are happy to defend and die for me, no matter how big or real the threat. He sees them in whatever light makes it easier for him to get what he wants.
If he could ever imagine what it’s like for them, if he ever stopped to truly consider his hypocrisy, he might think twice. But he doesn’t. Maybe he can’t. Perhaps he’s genuinely unable to separate the dilemma from his personal desires and imagine another perspective.
Young children often express fairness and unfairness in terms of what best benefits them, simply because they cannot yet take a more abstract view of a situation. It’s okay for me to punch Robbie in the stomach as long as I don’t get caught, but the minute he swipes my Tootsie Roll Pop, I’m going straight to Mom for justice.
All of us think this way from time to time; we’re only human. But some of us are better at resisting the urge. We call ourselves liberals. And we support our troops.
Am I the only one with enough sympathy for my Mother and Grandmothers that I’d want them to be able to chose whether to carry the child of their rapist were they hypothetically raped?
I mean, I love them. The idea of that happening to them is incredibly upsetting to me. I’d want to do anything I could to help them, including the incredibly mild sacrifice of not existing. I mean, you don’t have any feelings before existing. Millions of people are not brought into existence all the time. Hell, my being a wallflower sent millions of people into the land of “never will exist”. One abortion is hardly a drop in the bucket when it comes to offing hypothetical people.
I dunno, I guess it’s not fair to think of the guy as selfish, but that’s how I see it.
WTF… I thought hoomans were supposed to have gotten over the “selfish justice” model by the time they hit kindergarten? I mean, my son’s kinda got that part already.
And Coburn, dude, who the hell are you? I mean, does he think he’s THAT FUNDAMENTALLY important in the grand scheme of things? I mean… If I never got to exist (due to my grandmother’s ENTIRE family getting wiped out in WWII instead of just the majority or my grandfather’s family getting ALL shipped off to Siberia), so what? Not such a big deal, you know, it’s not like I’m Shakespear or Tchaikovsky or Picasso or whatever.
I totally adore how the nutters talk about “OMG!!!111 If we allow abortion, then all these widdle babies won’t exist!” And you go, errr, don’t red states have higher infant mortality rate, and those are the states that spend less on social programs and children’s health and shit? And they go, “OMG!!!!!111 Welfare Queens!” And you’re like, “Wait, what? How did we switch to that? Jesus, man!” And they go, “OMG!!!!1111 You did NOT just call Our Lord the Savior a mere man, did you? Are you some kind of HEATHEN?!” And I won’t even go into what happens when you say, “Fuck” around them…