A lot of people support the troops but not the war. That’s fine, but what does it mean? Personally, I don’t see why I should support the troops any more (or any less) than I should support the IRS or NASA or any other public employees. My feeling is “you knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred,”* and hope that it involves a minimal amount of pain and suffering on everyone’s part, but that’s hardly “support.”
What does the phrase mean to you:
A. I remember how badly Vietnam veterans were treated and I want to make it clear that I won’t do that, but I don’t really care about the troops per se.
B. I support them in that I don’t actively wish them harm.
C. I don’t want to blame the soldiers for the war. They’re just doing their job.
D. It’s a meaningless feel-good phrase so that people who disagree with me about the war will still like me.
E. I am actively lending my moral support by communicating with soldiers.
F. I am actively giving other support by sending them care packages.
G. I am actively giving them military support by buying them military supplies (boots, armor).
H. Something else entirely…?
I think a lot of people think that Support the Troops=Support the War=Support the Administration.
I am against the administration and, less so, the war, but I somewhat support the troops, because, although they knew upon enlisting that danger could be involved, they have no say in where and how they are deployed. I feel that they are doing the best they can with the tools that they have been given and told to do a job. It is not their fault the job shouldn’t be done. Individual soldiers excepted, I don’t see that they have done anything wrong and therefore, our anger at the administration should not be directed at them.
C. I don’t want to blame the soldiers for the war. They’re just doing their job.
E. I am actively lending my moral support by communicating with soldiers. I’ve got a few friends over there right now, including our very own RandMcNally.
F. I am actively giving other support by sending them care packages. **I’m baking cookies tonight for Rand :D. At the same time, I send my other friends whatever they need. They just have to ask. **
G. I am actively giving them military support by buying them military supplies (boots, armor). **I’ve given money to Operation Helmet (http://operation-helmet.org/), which is a great group. **
More than anything, though, I think that I support the troops by just being there for my friends that need me, as well as their friends. If I’m aware of someone over there that needs something and I’m in a position to get it for them, I’m more than happy to do so. If my evil ex boyfriend is having a rough day in Baghdad, I’ll put our past behind me and have a friendly chat with him. If my cousin needs new running shoes, I’ll send them to him.
I’m not old enough for A to really apply, so call be B C and D.
It was the earlier part of your thread that really distilled it for me though. They have chosen a job/career and are government employees just like any other government employee. The phrase and what people seem to mean by ‘Support The Troops!’ makes about as much sense as saying Support The District Attorney! I’ve been vaguely feeling that way about for a while now but wasn’t able to really pinpoint where that feeling came from. Thanks!
I think that “support the troops” means that you generally wish them well from afar, even if you don’t actually have any contact with them or, say, send them money or anything. It’s similar to when I told the judge that I “support my children.”
Well, I actively support the troops. Through MySoldier, I write to one (ok, I email) on a regular basis. I think the ribbons are dumb, because people who have those mostly think that their “support” is complete by having an effing magnet.
Yeah, we all know how that DA has to lay his life on the line, can’t tell his boss to shove it and quit, might be deployed away from his family for months or years. Yep, being a soldier is just like being a DA.
This is what I interpet it to mean, most of the time. After all, if they were providing real support, they probably wouldn’t use such a content-free phrase. They’d say something like, “I may not support the war, but I don’t want our boys to die, so I chipped in for some body armor.” Or care packages, or lobbied for them to come back, or something. I interpet “support the troops” to mean the same for the pro war types as well, but more so.
They knew all that was a possibility when they accepted the job. I’m not saying the job can’t and currently doesn’t majorly suck, but they did choose it.
Most of the people that use that phrase seem to mean, wear a t-shirt that says it! Wear a ribbon! Put a bumper sticker on your car! It has always seemed like a meaningless feelgood phrase to me.
A, B, C, E, F, but I don’t go around spouting off about supporting the troops, or have a magnet or bumper sticker on my car. I send cards and letters and care packages, and try hard to tell myself over and over that the troops are mostly good guys, just doing their jobs, and not let my emotions run out of control when I hear or think about the horrors going on in the Middle East.
You didn’t offer it as a choice, but I also send letters to my congress critters asking them to do more for the troops.
Yes, they chose it, but I still respect them for choosing it. If we didn’t have anyone willing to be in our military, we’d end up with mandatory service or a draft, which no one wants. So for that, I think those willing to put their lives on the line for us deserve a little extra than any other government employee.
IMO, the best description of what it means to “support the troops” is this:
“They serve so that we don’t have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is remarkably their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm’s way unless it is absolutely necessary.”
–Michael Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11
Aside from that, I’ll ditto everything AskNott wrote.
I very much agree with this. Yes, the soldiers knew they might have to lay down their life for their country, and accepted that risk. They had no way of knowing an idiot CiC was going to direct them to invade another country. They didn’t know in advance of enlistment they would be sent to fight an unwinable war. So I send cards and e-mails, and support organizations locally who help out the dependants on the local Army base.
Unfortunately, I am afraid of what will happen to the large numbers of soldiers who are injured and live. Medical science has improved to the point where soldiers survive injuries which would have been fatal in Korea or 'Nam. Many of these soldiers are being thrown out of the service and there isn’t enough of the VA to go around. My father-in-law was a POW in WWII, and suffered frostbite injuries to his feet that persisted the rest of his life. He was lucky enough and smart/hard working enough to have a pension to retire on, so he didn’t have to depend solely on the VA for health care. We would have lost him many years before we did if that had been the case.