[thechat] Getting closer

kristenannfrey at yahoo.com kristenannfrey at yahoo.com
Sat Feb 8 12:12:23 CST 2003


abbey wrote:
> Dunno why I'm telling all of you, but I really hate this. I hate the whole
> thing. I'm afraid for him, afraid for all our soldiers and sailors and
afraid
> for us -- this is bad, this is so very bad and so very wrong.
>
> Most people just yell at me, tell me I'm unpatriotic and all sorts of
nasty
> names. But this just ain't right.

Abbey,

Emotionally I feel the same way you do.  My husband (Dan) was active duty in
the Air Force and is now in "the Guard".  We have been lucky so far since he
is not active duty that he has not been deployed.  Eventually, we know that
if we go to war that it's only a matter of time before his number is called.

My "super christian conservative republican" parents and siblings think that
the only reason I don't support this war is because he could be deployed.
Well duh!  Of course I don't want him to go.  But if he does, I will be
supportive of him and proud of him.  Even though I don't support this war,
when I analyze what I truly believe, I find some comfort in my conclusion.

Some General Assumptions (these are just my assumptions upon which I try to
form an opinion):

1. Leaders should be elected by those they are to represent.
2. People should not be afraid that if they speak out, they (or their loved
ones) would be harmed.
3. People should be allowed to practice their beliefs to the extent that
they are not harmful to others.4. Women are not an inferior gender and
should not be treated as such.
5. Weapons of mass destruction should not be used without just cause.

Are these assumptions "violated" in the United States? Absolutely - all of
them in fact.
Are some or all of them violated to a greater degree in other areas of the
world? Yes.

When I consider Iraq and my own beliefs I conclude that something should be
done.  I think about the people in Iraq - I wonder if perhaps many of them
want Saddam gone.  The only Iraqis we ever hear speak out against Saddam are
those that have left Iraq.  This just doesn't sit well with me.  I think
many Iraqis live in fear.

At some point, human suffering (or the threat of it) needs to be dealt with.
George Bush and his followers believe that we have reached that point, but
they have not been able to convince the UN or much of the world.  I think it
is entirely possible that there is a case for war, but it has not been made.
If it had, the world wouldn't be debating this like it is.

All this doesn't convince me that we should go to war.  I'm sitting here
writing this and I can't stop crying.  Dan is at the Niagara Falls Air Force
base this weekend for his monthly "drill".  I wonder all weekend  if this
will be the weekend they tell him it's his time to go.  If we are going to
send our loved ones off to war, I cling to the thought that we *might* be
doing the right thing.  Maybe if we can remove Saddam, the people of Iraq
can stop living in fear.  It's a small comfort, but a comfort none the less.

Kristy




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