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I Hate This
11 · Oct · 2006
I'm trying to pack but Jarheads was on HBO and I got sucked into thinking about the war.
Why do you hate us?
Call me sentimental, but I can't believe I haven't just sat around and cried about all this for days on end. There is so much to lose my shit over whenever I admit to myself, even for a minute, how bad this whole thng really is.
There are many different opinions about the war. Depending on what day you catch me, within the last year, you might have heard all of them coming from my mouth. I don't know what the hell is going on anymore.
I hate this.
I hate that when I see a person of Middle Eastern decent I wonder if they think I resent them. ( I don't)
I hate that I no longer want to watch the news because the number of innocent people dead on both sides is too enormous for me to grasp.
I hate that no matter what side I choose, it will be the losing side.
I hate that one single soldier might think I don't care about his/her life.
I hate that one single Iraqi might think I don't care about his/her life.
I hate that even as you read this now, you want to tell me your version of the truth.
I hate that I can't tell the truth from the lies anymore.
I support our troops. I love our troops.
I want peace.
I know it’s a long shot, but if there is anyone reading who is in Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran on any side of the war/occupation, I would love to hear and will gladly publish your comments.
Posted by Penny Rene at October 11, 2006 05:31 PM
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Comments
"I hate that I can't tell the truth from the lies anymore"
I too wish I knew the truthiness of the situation...Not only the "war" but as to life in general.
P.S. I will miss your family! The east coast is lucky to have you...
Posted by: Jake on October 11, 2006 10:09 PM
Penny, I work with alot of young sailors who have Purple Hearts and Combat Action Medals - they will never be the same. I hate this too. But, we are in over our heads now and we can't just leave in the middle of it. If you talk to any of these Sailors (Hospital Corpsman who served along side the Marines), you will know that as horrible as it is over there it would be worse if we didn't see this thing through. If we don't establish a safe Iraq for her citizens, an ancient people will surely perish. It is too late for pointing fingers and calling names, as much as we hate this, we owe it to our troops to give them our support and praise them for a job well done. Let the history books do the latter.
Our young men and women are coming home, and granted they are different, they have seen poverty and destruction like most Americans could never even fathom, but they are proud of their work they are proud of their team, they deserve our gratitude.
The first thing we should do is turn off the news - stop listening to the journalists who sit in a tidy studio far away from the war bad mouthing our government our politics and judging a handful of soldiers who did something wrong while patrolling a city full of suicide bombers or while standing guard at a jail full of terrorists. This is the first thing we should do!
Secondly, we need to continue to show our support for our troops in every way we possibly can - give them a letter, give them a hand, give them a job and show them we appreciate what they do.
Posted by: Angie on October 12, 2006 07:40 AM
Angie – Thank you for your comment. Part of my point to my post was that I truly do support and appreciate our troops. I have known and am friends with many now.
I will not try to fool myself into believing I know the “why” of this war. When I think about the troops, they have nothing but my gratitude and compassion. I’m proud of them. What a few did wrong has no bearing on my opinion as them as a whole team.
Posted by: Penny on October 12, 2006 09:26 AM