The Shape of Days

Markos “Screw Them” Zuniga asks “three simple questions” about … well, it’s kind of hard to say what they’re about. I think he thinks they’re about Iraq, but they’re really more about the moral philosophy of the use of military force in a democracy.

• “How does sending our troops to Iraq, separating them form their families and loved ones, putting them in harm’s way, and keeping them there equal ‘supporting the troops?’”

It doesn’t. Because that’s not what “supporting the troops” means. “Supporting the troops,” a phrase which I myself dislike specifically because it leads to misunderstandings like this one, broadly means understanding the nature of a civilian-run military. It means understanding that the men and women in uniform do not make the decisions about when, where and how to deploy the troops or to project military power. It means understanding that whether the troops are in harm’s way and whether the mission is worth carrying out are totally separate questions.

I’m pretty sure it also means not dragging the troops into a debate about the worthiness of the mission, but maybe that’s just me.

• “Why do those who claim to ‘honor their sacrifices’ want them to continue sacrificing?”

Because some of us understand that sometimes sacrifice is necessary. That’s really it, man. There’s really nothing more to it.

We can debate whether sacrifices are necessary now all you want. But first we all have to agree that sacrifice is necessary sometimes. Otherwise we’re just talking past each other.

• “Why don’t those who bloviate about ‘supporting’ and ‘honoring’ the troops against an enemy they think threatens Western civilization actually, you know, put on combat boots and join them?”

Because not just anybody can be a soldier, any more than just anybody could be a doctor or an airline pilot or an opera singer. So some of us who would choose to enlist if we were able have to do other things instead, because we just wouldn’t make the cut. They used to call folks like us “4-F.”

Of course, if somebody wants to try to propagate the notion that we’re all just a bunch of fat, white, cigar-smoking captains of industry raising our glasses of brandy and proclaiming “To evil!” then so be it. Kind of derails the debate, I guess, but what the heck.

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Now, I’ve got a simple question of my own. It goes like this: How come some folks who obviously want to debate U.S. military policy in Iraq and elsewhere try so hard to turn the conversation into a blanket indictment of everybody who stands on the other side of the issue? How come we can’t just, you know, talk about it like adults?

Because I’m just wondering.

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This post is part of a series. You can read the whole thing here, if you’re into that sort of thing.

• Sometimes Canadians piss me off
• Why I’m supporting the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court
• The modern messiah