Annotation: Americans on War: Mixed Messages

Nather, David. "American on War: Mixed Messages." CQ Weekly. 12 Feb. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .
Web.


Americans on War: Mixed Messages is an article written in 2007 during the second term of the Bush presidency, and discusses the conflict in Americans then deciding whether or not they thought the troops should stay in or leave Iraq. David Nather discusses how Republicans and Democrats alike were conflicted, stating that the majority “overwhelmingly disapproves of Bush’s handling of the war and… believe the war was not worth fighting, [but] they are split over whether U.S. troops should stay in Iraq or leave, according to most recent polls.” He states how the mixed feelings are most accurately represented by the Independent Party, whose for/against-the-war ratio is almost 50-50. Nather discusses how the negative national sentiment is not shared by many military people, and that those who support the war live in “Republican Territory.” Nather’s negative viewpoint on the situation is made clear by his repetition in explaining Americans’ “deep dissatisfaction” with the war, and he quotes Senator Alexander from Tennessee, saying “We’re not happy with the conduct of the war, but we also want to express support for the troops, and it’s hard to do both things at once.” He discusses blocking funding for a troop increase, and concludes with a statement that suggests it’s “time to find the best way out.” This article was written with an extreme bias, shining a very negative light on public opinion of Iraq. Nather’s mentioning of how military people tend to disagree was extremely brief, and was written as though he felt it was unimportant. This article is offensive to those who support the war, but is an excellent example of the opinions of the opposition. All in all, the article is two years old now- and the U.S. is still in Iraq.

Throughout this blog I will be exploring the affects the current war on terror has had on our culture and on myself. My arguments I am going to discuss will most likely include a discussion on how there is no "neutral" when it comes to war- you fight or you don't, you support or you don't, one is for and one is against and by attempting to stay neutral you are really picking a side. I am going to talk about why war gets people so wound up- everybody has an opinion, whether it's to support the war and the troops, to support the troops but not the war, or to support neither. Also, I am probably going to talk about its affects on our culture as of late- after 9/11 our country seemed extremely united in opinion on the war on terror, but as time went on, the national sentiment seemed to gradually turn. People began to passionate hate President Bush for war-related issues, and I don't quite understand why. I am going to be looking into that and the decline of patriotism within our culture, and then discuss possible affects it has on our future.
I find this topic to be very personal and also to be a very predominant issue in society as of late- I feel as though our national debt and economic status as well as the lack of respect we seem to have in foreign countries is contributing to the decline of the USA. Is China now the world superpower? Is patriotism really on the decline? Should it be?
I hope that this discussion can help answer my questions, clarify my opinion, and shine light upon one of the most hotly debated topics of our generation.

Is the war humanity has with itself the war I have against it? I hate fighting and violence. But I firmly believe that it is a necessity. If we didn't fight against terrorism on foreign soil we would be forced to fight against it on our own. I like to think that I fight against the problems in society today. But do I? Do my contributions really matter? Is my little war that I wage day by day really effective? Regardless, I will keep fighting it. But I truly hope that it is.

My friend Josh is a marine. He returned from his deployment to Iraq back before summer began and since then has told me little bits and pieces about what it is like. I of course am very curious, because I know such a difficult career is unfathomable to me. However, I have to bite my tongue and not push the subject.
War is obviously a touchy subject today... I find myself being annoyed constantly by people who bicker about it. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear about it. I suppose I like to forget it exists, and imagine the world is just sort of perfect and monotonous. But... like all the other things I try to forget, it seems to come back and haunt me.
The fact about war is that it is inescapable. No matter how much I try to forget or how hard people try to stop it, it will always be there. I support this claim by citing history, by citing humanity. As much as I hate war... wherever there are people, there will be fighting.