I 'haven't served in the military." Does my opinion matter?

[cally]

I'm proud of what I've done for my country. I'm proud of what my parents did but I didn't enlist and I never will. I'm a pacifist and I don't believe in war. Well, I had to modify that one because I did support the war in Afghanistan. The idea of the war but absolutely not how the US forces are acting.

Many here served in the military and I honor you. Many have stepped up and are activists. Many serve in our cities and make us proud.

Too many are saying that if you served in the military that your opinion matters more than those who didn't. I respect the sacrifices you made and your service but we have to respect the opionions of us all. Many serve, but not just in the military.

[evlbstrd]

1. One citizen, one vote.

I'm a veteran, but we are equal.

[quiet.american]

2. Of course your opinion matters -- :)

Many who served, myself included, have a problem with those who spout off about the glories of war just so long as they don't have to fight it. The Young Republicans come to mind.

[DURHAM D]

3. Of course non-vets opinions matter - look at the warhawks running

our country.

[BornLeft]

14. Warhawks? Chickenhawks maybe. eom

[two gun sid]

4. Yes it matters....

I think every human being deserves to have their voice heard. No one should be counted as more important than anyone else.


I was a dumb kid who needed a job when I volunteered. My country never entered my mind. Not very heroic or unselfish was I?

Speak up. Kick ass. Don't worry about us vets. Goddamn, I hope by me serving some young person won't have to.

[Semi_subversive]

11. I wasn't thinking much about serving my country either

My train of thought was how can I avoid being drafted into the Army where I might get dead? Answer: Join the Navy because, from what I'd heard, the other guys didn't have one. And for sure they didn't have any subs.

Now I worry about my boys (22 and 17) getting drafted. Oh, well, Canada is only two and a half states away.

[punpirate]

5. The single biggest complaint...

... here is about those on the right who continue to support (and advocate for more) war, but have no military experience themselves. In that sense, they are promoting the placement of soldiers in danger to fulfill a political ambition of their own, without ever feeling the need to personally sacrifice toward that end.

Even so, let them have their opinion, and let you have yours.

As for military experience, one's opinion may not be any less valuable than yours, but that additional knowledge ought to be weighed in any discussion. Facts and experience are components of an informed, reasoned opinion.

Cheers.

[wuushew]

6. Afghanistan even if primitive had sovereignty

Al Queda was headquartered there, but I don't see how that was an excuse to use military force.

Terrorism is not war, it is crime. It is committed by individuals and not states. True justice would had involved seeking extradition for those involved and containing the elements from inflicting future damage on the west. Basically we were hypocrites but were happy with the results that came from breaking the rules.

[gratuitous]

7. Only if you think you opinion matters

I utterly reject the notion, peddled daily in the media, that the only folks who can comment negatively on the military or America's imperial adventures are those who originally supported them.

I was right about Afghanistan and Iraq (that it wouldn't accomplish their publicly stated objectives); I was right that it was obscene to send our military thousands of miles overseas to "protect" the wealthiest, most heavily armed nation on the planet from one of the most abject and poorest nations (Afghanistan) or from a nation that couldn't mount a credible threat beyond its borders (Iraq); I was right that these imperial invasions would harm American prestige and authority all over the world; and I was right that our troops would inevitably commit atrocities in those foreign countries when the citizenry didn't take kindly to being pushed around by an arrogant, bullying nation.

That matters far more to me than what some yahoo who was wrong on all those counts thinks about my opinion.

[ET Awful]

8. As an ex-Army infantry soldier, the only time I discount the opinion

of a non-vet is when they tell me that I am unpatriotic or unamerican for not supporting the actions of the lunatic in chief.

My tolerance ends when someone who never put on a uniform in their lives criticizes those of us who did for being opposed to an immoral war.

[Ironpost]

9. Of course it matters

Us vet don't feel like we have a lock on anything, in fact from being a part of an unjust war like VN I feel soiled. look at it as you are here taking care of business for them when they are away. Worry not about the vets for they love you and our folks back here is what helped us to make it back home.

[cally]

12. That's what I'm getting at

I was gifted with a different experience. Yes, I mean gifted. Let's try to heal.

[Ironpost]

13. You are my equal, you are our equal, you are one of us.

What ails us is what makes us strong. Shall we go through life loving and being loved, to be blessed.

[BOSSHOG]

10. I did 24 years, so what?

Serving in the military gives no one an extra boost of anything. I did my job, you are doing yours. I do not think Americans should have to serve in the military in any capacity. With lucid, sane civilian leadership that will be the case.

I did my time so you don't have to and I'm extremely good with that. My opinion means zero more than yours. However, I occasionally run into the knucklehead who thinks I have to serve in the military because of my liberal outlook on the Constitution. And when speaking to some right wing nut job flamethrower who has never served and is waxing philosophical about the benefits of war, I'll trot out my military experience everytime.

God Bless you My Fellow American and thank you for your service to our Country.

[dancingme]

15. Neither did JeffJim GannonGuckert

Never served in the military.