In Response to "Support Our Troops"

Editor's Note: This letter was written in response to "Support Our Troops", an opinion piece published in the first issue of Divergence Magazine.

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Everyone in the armed forces fights for you to be free. They fight for rights so many of us take for granted such as being able to go to college, have as many kids as we want and speak freely about our president. In other countries, people die because of it. Answer me, who would protect our rights as American citizens if they didn't? Having our rights written on a paper means nothing; our soldiers keep that paper alive. They give it meaning.

The Armed Forces have been fighting to protect our rights for centuries. They protect our national security, our borders and make our safety their first priority. Yes, of course the military has changed since 1914, but it's now 2008 and we must adapt to these changes. I agree, our stable defense forces like the police, national guard and coast guard do provide us with their generous help. Their main duty which they are trained to do is protect and keep us safe. They are trained and ordered to kill those who threaten our safety. Do I have a problem with that? Absolutely not. You believe that today, our military is fighting for all the wrong reasons; we are in a war without meaning. I beg to differ.

Many American lives were lost on September 11 and many others were threatened. A mother that was anxiously waiting for her son to come home, but instead had to watch her son's airplane flight crash into the World Trade Center would believe that we're in this war for a reasonable cause, for justice, to regain what was taken from us. You didn't lose anyone, so what say do you have? You weren't personally affected. Your father didn't die, your brother didn't die; you sat at home and said, "Wow that's horrible, lets move on". But others didn't even get the last remains of their loved ones. A war without meaning? How dare you. Whether our soldiers are fighting over a chunk of brownie or the life of my brother, I'd support both. Why? Because I am an American, I stand by my country at its best and at its worst. A majority here, over there, under there and all the way over there probably don't want us in Iraq. Now, let's get back to reality. The war wont' be over in a few months, when Obama wins the presidency or when McCain wins the presidency. Sure they can promise it will, but is it really going to happen? I highly doubt it.

You always have the right to express yourself freely, that's the great thing about being an American. But how dare you take for granted these men and women who leave behind everything for you (willingly or not) -a perfect stranger? You should be ashamed. You probably work 20 hours a week and spend the rest of the time in your comfortable home relaxing, but they don't. They literally have a 24/7 job, their home is a base. They can't see their loved ones or write about how much they don't support the war and how soldiers don't really fight for our rights (they do it for fun, right?). How dare you feel entitled to express your opinions? I know how... Because they GAVE you the right to be entitled and you are.

"Seventy-one percent of Iraqis want us out". Oh no, they don't want us there? Thank you for informing us. Everybody gather up your belongings. Fahd just informed us that they don't want us here. Now, please, think. Do you really believe we can walk out after being there so long? Even if we did just "leave" do you actually believe the soldiers will be home in a few months? No. It will take a year at the minimum to bring them all home. Oh and I'm pretty sure Hitler didn't want us in Europe either.

The truth is, we're in this war. Like it or not. Soldiers are fighting and I'm pretty sure they're fighting for us (Americans). So you're either with us or against us. Simple as that.

One more thing, the reason most would rather get their news on the internet or television is because "Divergence" is full of "writers" who lack the ability to express themselves appropriately without the use of vulgar language. We'd have better luck getting news from Ozzy Osbourne.

I'm ashamed people like you "write" for the Cypress College "newspaper".

-Sara Magallon