For five years, now, there’s been an unspoken argument in this country, with “supporting the troops” as a trump card. When we first went into Iraq, a large number of Americans were against it — we knew it was wrong even then — but every time we said “I’m against the war,” we had to immediately qualify it with “but I support the troops.” And that same trump card is still influencing the discussion today.

This morning, I received this in my email.

Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.
He stays up for days on end.You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.

You complain of a “headache”, and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

You put on your anti war/don’t support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

Okay, up to this point it all sounds very heroic — and it IS! — but do you notice their equating “anti-war” with “don’t support the troops” here? Still, I can even let this one slide, since the author redeems himself by pointing out that the soldier is fighting for your right to wear it. That negates the whole argument. Let’s move on.

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.You talk trash about your “buddies” that aren’t with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn’t get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today.

You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He’s told he will be held over an extra 2 months.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love’s perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they’ll ever meet.

All very heroic, and deserving of whatever support we can give them! But then…

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.

Note the changeover. It’s a subtle one, and now that the reader is worked into an emotional frenzy, they’re likely to miss it. But there it is… This statement was intended to justify a war, it has nothing to do with supporting a soldier.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.

Wow, I’ve heard a lot of jokes about the war, but in the last five years I can’t say I remember a single joke that made fun of the men who risk their lives for their country. This just sounds like a lie to me… designed only to increase our emotional attachment to the point being made.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.

Really? So the media is controlling things? Wow, I had no idea. I remember when Bush’s government banned the media from showing bodies. I remember the journalists who lost their jobs for trying to show more. The media doesn’t control what we see, that’s our President’s doing, and his Secretary of Defense’s doing.

Still, this much is true. Those soldiers see a lot that most Americans do not. They’re still heroes, but it’s not in spite of “the media” holding them back. You know… I still haven’t seen a line in here like “You need new shoes for work so you go buy them, but the troops need armor and Rummsfeld refuses to give it to them.”

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t.
He does exactly what he is told.

This, of course, assumes that we’re all assholes who never do what we’re told. Sure there are those who are rebellious, but there are also those who obey.

And either way, the real point being made here is that these soldiers are doing what they’re told. Think about that: that means they didn’t choose to invade Iraq… they were told to. That’s further reason why you can’t relate support for troops to support for a war. It’s bullshit.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be woken by gunfire.

Okay, I’ll allow the harmless generalizations because they help show a best-/worst-case scenario. But they are misleading. There are people right here in America who sleep under bridges and carry their lives on their back while they don’t eat… and likewise, there are plenty of us here who don’t have televisions or down pillows.

But this is where it gets good…

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.

This is the big emotional capper to the whole story, so we’ve got to really strike a nerve. Truth is, I don’t know of anyone dumb enough to say such a thing.

If only there were more men like him!If you support your troops, re-send this to everyone you know,

If it gets to another veteran who hasn’t received it yet, it will bring back memories.

Of course, the obligatory plea for you to forward this to everyone you know. To any thinking person, this phrase should flip a switch in your brain that causes you to block out everything you’ve just read.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom

Woo-hoo! We even found a way to work Jesus into it! Now that’s just good propaganda right there. So for those who can’t see through this, what just happened is the author just subtlely said “and if you’re against the war, you’re against the troops… but you’re also against Jesus.” Moreover, the author has just equated soldiers to Jesus! Now you can’t even argue, because he made it religious.

Who has offered to die for me? Soldiers, yes. Jesus, maybe — according to some story. But while I’m not an American of Jewish or Cuban descent (to name a two) there are plenty of AMERICANS who will read this, whose parent risked their lives, fleeing Nazi or Communist countries for the lives of their families. Soldiers are brave, but they’re not the only ones.

The bottom line is that this is just the latest example of a five-year-old propaganda campaign to bully people into supporting a war just by saying they should support the troops, and it’s bullshit.