Flawed essay
In a beautiful essay, Lori Borgman tackles a dilemma that is faced by all who now see the Iraq invasion as a tragic mistake. She takes the position that every parent of a young man or woman in the military has a right to be proud, and she is correct.
Today, nearly everyone accepts that these armed forces personnel did not declare war against Iraq, that they are doing what every member must do which is to obey orders, that they have proved themselves to be well trained, highly skilled, and possessing of high morale, and with few
exceptions, well disciplined. Could anything more be asked of our military? Major mistakes have been made, but these failures can be traced right to the top, where the deciders are all civilians.
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So what do we do if we disapprove of the way the Iraq war has been bungled and the deceit by which it was sold to the American public? Especially if we have, as I do, a grandson in the Air Force and a niece's husband a high-ranking Naval officer? This is a delicate, perplexing
situation, occurring very often over these last 4 1/2 years.
We do not, as Ms. Borgman claims, say "I'm sorry," for that would be coarse. Mostly among family and friends we simply avoid discussions that would upset some.
To bolster her gentle lecture, Ms Borgman quotes from a patriotic sermon preached in 1778 by Reverend Jacob Cushing of the Congregationalist Church in Lexington, Massachusetts on the third anniversary of the Battle of Lexington. This battle, which occurred in 1775, and in which 8
colonists were killed and 10 wounded by the British soldiers sent to quell the uprising against "taxation without representation", was one of the early conflicts in what would later be called the American Revolution. Ms Borgman neglects to mention it was a battle fought ON OUR OWN SOIL. That is a far cry from our invasion and occupation of another sovereign nation.
But Ms. Borgman’s big flaw is her promotion of our president’s claim that our liberty and freedom were ever, or are now, threatened by Iraq.
Lori Borgman has put her finger on a very sensitive point in human relationships. Increasingly, citizens are realizing that our leaders have misled us into the Iraq War. We should express our outrage at the voting booth, not at the men and women who bravely choose to serve their
country.
J. Edward Muhlbach
Shrewsbury Township
I couldn't agree with you any more. I am retired from the Navy, but I'm called anti-military and even a Communist simply because I disagree with the international mistakes the simpleton in the White House has made over the past six years. We need to vote out of office every politician who has sided with this gross would-be dictator.
Dave,thanks for making my job easier.You too will have 7 virgins awaiting you in the hereafter.Keep up the good work !!!!!!
I love how this phony Al guy is so stupid that he's incapable of spelling his own name.