Funmurphys: the Blog

While I certainly agree with you about Islamofascism representing a tragically backward mode of belief which should be eradicated, I can't agree that our going into Iraq has done anything other than engender more terrorism. Contrary to what the administration would have us believe, it doesn't follow that because Al Qaeda destroyed the Towers on 9/11 we needed to attack Iraq, but that's how the war has been sold to the American people. At nearly every juncture over the past four years, we've been fed a line of manure about our motives for going to war with Iraq, about how the Iraqi's would greet us as benevolent liberators, about how we assembled a Grand Coalition to Defeat the Evildoers, etc. Whether or not your politics align with Bush, it's hard for me to see how self-respecting citizens can support such a government which has the stated foreign policy goal of eradicating 'Terror'. What does this mean, that sometime in the next four years (assuming Bush wins), we will be treated to a 'Game Over' speech from Bush in which he declares that the last terrorist has been killed? That's a nice fantasy world Bush lives in, I wish he would invite me in.

Kerry, while admittedly no shining star either, at least offers us a new hope for regaining the respect we've arrogantly squandered abroad. And before you say something like 'Bush wouldn't let the decisions of other countries dictate how we ensure the security of Americans', neither would Kerry, and it's pretty disingenuous for people to suggest this. Anytime someone mentions that it may just be a good thing to have the goodwill of more people around the world, the administration perverts the message in order to stamp it out. The administration wants no part of those who would question our motives, our tactics, our ethics, and the perception (and more importantly the reality) of our actions abroad. The perception is bad enough, as is evidenced by numerous international polls, but the reality is worse. Tens and maybe hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed due to our 'liberation', which, as we have seen, wasn't even wanted by the very people whose freedom we claim to care so much about.

I'm always at a loss to reconcile the Christian teachings Bush claims to adhere to with our foreign policy since 9/11. Best I can remember, there are no commandments along the lines of 'Thou shalt be vengeful' or 'Thou shalt value security above mercy'. In fact, I don't see much at all in Jesus' teachings which indicate we should vanquish our foes mercilessly, especially when the innocent-to-evildoer kill ratio is so high in Iraq. I seem to remember the message was more along the lines of 'love thy neighbor' and 'turn the other cheek', but admittedly it has been a little while since I went to church so maybe there's a new interpretation I'm not privy to...

As to the issue of character, which always seems to be so important to conservatives, what impression has Kerry given that would make you think he is the kind to 'cut and run'? How is it that Kerry is perceived by conservatives to be soft, when in his personal life he chose to enlist, served admirably in Vietnam, and while up against the military equivalent of the Blue Wall of Silence had the guts to admit that he and his fellow soldiers had at times been less than ethical in war? I would think it would be much easier to keep those sins to yourself. To me, admitting accountability for wrongs committed is the very definition of patriotism. That is, if patriotism is defined as loving a country's dearly held principles, as opposed to loving one's country's security for its own sake. I think Bush's record in this regard, both personal and in his service as President, pales in comparison to Kerry's, although in Bush's defense I will grant that no Mexican aircraft was bold enough to broach the airspace over Texas during the time Bush's fellow National Guard servicemen were patrolling the skies.

So I must respectfully disagree with your choice of Bush for president. I cannot in good conscience support an administration which in the name of absolute security squelches dissent at home, labels those who care enough to raise a voice against the war unpatriotic, and more importantly stubbornly refuses to rethink its failed strategies or admit a hint of remorse for innocent lives lost. In a fit of revenge both personal and nationalistic, we responded to the 9/11 tragedy with an undisciplined, misguided, horribly (if at all) thought-out policy of preemptive war. Iraq wasn't a hotbed of terrorism before we attacked, but it sure is now. On 9/12/2001 we had the vast majority of the people of the world with us--how did we go so wrong so fast?

Oh well. At least we have Baldur's Gate... Say hi to the family for us; we miss our friends and neighbors in St. Louis even though we're enjoying Blacksburg. We're still there with our Midwestern bretheren in spirit, crying with the Cards when they failed to show for that whole World Series thing.