Many of you would have seen the infamous thread recently made by Ulala entitled "
To those
who have served ... you're not all heroes". In fact a lot of you probably participated in tearing the OP apart. Though I agree he may have
been asking for it, especially with his timing and all -- I do for the most part find myself in agreement with him. I flagged and starred his post --
and after seeing all the replies 'passionately' expressed within that thread, I feel the need to explain/defend my actions.
My reasons are quite simple. The excuse I often see being made by those defending the soldiers is that "they don't choose which wars to fight --
they're just following orders". Now it was my understanding that our elected officials served the people -- not the other way around. The founding
fathers provided the people with the constitution. Our elected officials serve us by following the constitution, and the people ensure that the
elected officials stick to the constitution. If they don't, the people kick them out. If need be, we have our soldiers to assist! It's intended
purpose was to protect the freedoms & liberties of the people, no? I think it's important to note that the soldiers and the people are one and the
same. It's the people that choose to serve as soldiers. So they do more than just represent the people, they are the people. When I lay any blame on
the soldiers, really it's us, the common person that I refer to.
We've forgotten the true meaning of the word 'patriotism'. The problem is that we've allowed ourselves to stray too far away from those basic,
simple principles. We've taken simplicity for granted and have allowed things to become far too complicated. The more complex things become, the more
corrupt things become. For too long we've allowed the corrupt to grow and grow, to the point where they have the power to brainwash us, to control
us. We have allowed for the corrupt to take control of us, and as a result, we ourselves have become corrupted.
The thing is many of us are beginning to wake up to this painful reality -- this very website is a testament to that fact, we are waking up. But the
problem is we should be mad as hell -- yet we're not doing anything! We've opened our doors to a great evil that has taken advantage of us in our
sleep... tools have been created out of us. Now we're awake, we're aware, we have the power and yet still we do absolutely nothing. Some of us cry,
some of us whinge -- but for the majority we just go on living in ignorance, in darkness -- even after having seen the light.
Above any order, above any command -- the judgment of our own morals, our own principles -- that we all collectively hold -- should be prioritized
above that of anything else. No one needs to tell us it's wrong to kill, and no one needs to tell us those rare occasions where it's necessary to
kill. As for those of us who still cannot tell right from wrong, they're not fit to be in a position to have to make those decisions.
We as humans have evolved to a point where things really should be this simple. We may have strayed off course somewhat, but it's about time we start
taking back responsibility and move forward once and for all. Our course will only be corrected in this world when we finally begin placing the blame
on none other than ourselves -- and If that means in the form of our soldiers as well, so be it. I'm prepared to step up and take the heat for doing
so if it means a small contribution to taking that one step closer towards a better world.
[edit on 12/11/09 by Navieko]