Just-A-Thot On Anti-War Protests

I was reading about the anti-war protest that Cindy Sheehan is leading in Crawford, TX outside our President's ranch. I respect (but disagree with) her views about the war in Iraq. She lost a son in that war, and I sympathize with her for that. I also understand the varying opinions nation-wide concerning how to handle that war. Not even our nationally elected leaders agree on that issue - many of which are in the loop of intelligence flow. Our president and other leaders see and know more than the liberal media know and report. Yet they don't even agree on what to do.

Let me also remind our fellow countrymen that our President was chosen to handle this to the best of his ability, and I, for one, trust him to do that. He doesn't need my complaints, he needs my support. However, even the support of the troops and the President is wrought with confusion because many are tying two unrelated concepts together in an unholy mix of ideas.

Let's use the case of Cindy Sheehan's protest as an example. She is anti-war, but pro-troops. She simply wants the war to end. She says she wants to honor the troops, and is holding a prayer vigil for them. This is all well and good - but if you support her prayer vigil, she wants to tie that to the anti-war sentiments. In the eyes of the media (and so much of the nation) there is no such thing as praying for the troops, honoring the fallen, and the like without it being also a message of anti-war protest. What if I want to pray for the troops, honor the fallen, but also want to have the job overseas finished before bringing the troops back? What if I support the troops AND the President?

I believe that the philosophy of the day is one of confusion. One cannot fault Cindy or her supporters for the basic premise of her activism. This war is costing lives and that hurts, and we would all like it to stop. But it goes too far when it becomes a demand that we stop without considering the ramifications of stopping it prematurely. I for one believe that would only make the terrorism more prevalent - both in Iraq and in America. Surely Cindy and her followers don't want that. But vilifying our President for doing what we have asked him to do is not the answer, and vilifying those who disagree with Cindy is not the answer. I think Cindy should peacefully apologize for causing such confusion and go home, mourn the loss of her son, and the sons of those who have joined her. We should unite as a nation and pray that this Iraq thing would end soon and for good. Pray that the killing would stop - the terrorism would stop. Pray that Iraq would be a peaceful place.

And by the way, I wonder why more people are rallying for the Anti-War protests than the Anti-drugs, Anti-crime issues in our nation. After all, more of our kids are dying from gang and drug violence each day in our cities than die at the hands of terrorists globally. I think our country is busy arguing about how to defend itself while we rot from within. That won't bode well for us in the long run.