And Another Thing!
Over on the former Lt. Smash's (now Citizen Smash's)
blog, an anti-war vet tried another tack:
"I'm a Gulf War vet, my dad, a Vietnam vet, my grandfathers both WWII vets. It rankles me considerably when people tell me I'm full of crap (as some of you in this forum have) because I support our troops but not this war. I think a better question of our candidates (and our President, for that matter!) is "Would you send YOUR children to be shot or blown to bits on the field of battle or tortured, starved and raped in a POW camp?" If the answer is no, then I don't see how our leaders can ask any *other* parents to make that sacrifice."
I responded ironically: "Let me get this straight; only people who would send their children to be "tortured, starved and raped in a POW camp" can send our military to war?"
He replied quite civilly:
"I wasn't clear - only those who would send their kids away to the field of battle *for that specific cause* should be allowed to make that decision for someone else. At the very least, considering one's own children would give a little pause before volunteering someone else's kids for horrible duty."
Of course if you're smart enough to be reading my blog, you can see a couple holes in that one, right away. First of all, much like the chickenhawk formulation, it restricts the presidency, this time to people with children of military age and fitness. Childless? You can't run for President because you don't have any kids to send to any wars you want to wage.
But I chose a different line of attack: "What about the wishes of the kids? Do Jenna and Barbara get a choice in the matter? Or does W say, well I'm sending other parents' kids into battle, so you've got to go, too?"
He didn't seem to get it:
"My concern is that whoever makes the choice *fully* absorbs the ramifications of what he or she is doing, including putting a very real face on the effects of battle on American soldiers and their families. As so many of our politicians come from privileged backgrounds (in stark contrast to most of our fighting forces, who come from very poor upbringings), it oftentimes seems that our leaders volunteer "the other half" for duty they wouldn't - and infrequently ever - volunteer their own families for."
I think my response nailed it: "How does one volunteer one's family? Isn't that up to the individuals? Or do we bring back the draft, but only for the families of politicians voting in favor of war?"
