Military Mom & Wife

[Dr. Shane]

Well, at least we know one woman is proad of her family's decision.

>>> MOVE OVER, CIND...amp;lt;<

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"Tammy has four sons serving in Iraq right now with the Idaho National Guard: Eric, Evan, Greg and Jeff. Last year her husband, Leon, and another son, Aaron, returned from Iraq, where they helped train Iraqi firefighters in Mosul.

"Tammy says this -- and I want you to hear this -- 'I know that if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country.'

"And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in. America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."

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[Michelle]

I guess being outside the US and out of the range of full-time US-based news has made me wonder why Cindy is such a big deal--I guess she must have been played on CNN non-stop (I've read a little in Time Asia and read some on NYT online).

There are always peripheral people involved with a war who support or don't support it. I have a good friend whose family just moved back stateside after a stint in Japan, after which the husband, an Army nurse, left for Iraq. When I was talking to my friend, I said aren't you a little nervous? She said, "I get so annoyed with military wives who boo hoo about their husbands going to active duty. That's why they're in the military."

Now I personally, would have a lot more questions because I am not the patriot who unquestioningly accepts what the administration decides to do. I would have a hard time with a military husband, or child, because I personally wouldn't want to see him in a situation I couldn't defend politically.

Without getting enmeshed in the rhetoric that comes from both sides of this issue, I think there are legitimate reasons for both mothers to feel how they do. How can we force every mother to accept her child's decision for a career? And if she had not, or had grudgingly, it would be easy for her to be so upset if/when the child was killed.

The second report talks of being proud of her son defending her country. This is some of the rhetoric I'm talking about (and which my friend used too). Were our country truly under attack, I would be more willing to "give" my husband or son to the defense of the country. Since this isn't currently the case (unless things have changed in the year I've been living outside the country), this particular bit of rhetoric is nice for those who feel passionatly patriotic, but is quite irrelevant to the current situation.

M

[Clio]

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Michelle said:

Were our country truly under attack, I would be more willing to "give" my husband or son to the defense of the country. M

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Overall thoughts in the post are excellent, Michelle, but I did want to address this particular statement explicitly.

But first, let me state that I agree with 99% of everything in your post. My only quibble is this:

We, as wives, parents, husbands, children, do not "give" our loved ones to the defense of our country. By the time any family member joins the military, they are adult, and volunteered. If we are to follow True Jesus example, and refrain from the forcing of "choice" on another, we must accept our loved ones choices made as adults.

We may not agree with their choice, it is not necessary that we do so. Just as Abba Father does not agree with our choice to sin. We can, however, wage a counter-attack. We can pray for their change of heart and mind, we can pray for their safety, we can pray for their enlightenment.

We cannot, no matter how much we may desire to, either "give" or "withhold" another adult from service to their country. Even if their choice to serve their country is wrong in our estimation.

Should the draft be reinstated, and it most likely will be, the dynamics of the situation changes. A drafted child/husband/wife/parent has not exercised free will. In that situation, given how short is the time until True Jesus comes, it may be that civil disobedience and it's consequences is the price of obedience to Abba.

Time is very, very short. We need to be thinking through the practical, applied aspects to our beliefs.

Clio

[Michelle]

Quote:

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We, as wives, parents, husbands, children, do not "give" our loved ones to the defense of our country. By the time any family member joins the military, they are adult, and volunteered. If we are to follow True Jesus example, and refrain from the forcing of "choice" on another, we must accept our loved ones choices made as adults.

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Clio--I actually agree with you, which is why I used the word in quotation marks. Everyone seems to use this as if the mom/wife in question must give/offer/sacrifice her husband/son to the country. I've noticed that especially those who are very patriotic, pro-military, etc, are the ones who use this rhetorical term.

M

[aldona]

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Michelle said:

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We, as wives, parents, husbands, children, do not "give" our loved ones to the defense of our country. By the time any family member joins the military, they are adult, and volunteered. If we are to follow True Jesus example, and refrain from the forcing of "choice" on another, we must accept our loved ones choices made as adults.

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Clio--I actually agree with you, which is why I used the word in quotation marks. Everyone seems to use this as if the mom/wife in question must give/offer/sacrifice her husband/son to the country. I've noticed that especially those who are very patriotic, pro-military, etc, are the ones who use this rhetorical term.

M

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What about conscription?

I know this is not the case now, but what about in the future if the defence forces cannot recruit enough personnel?

How then will we react when they come to enlist our husbands/fathers/sons/brothers? Especially if it goes against their (or our) beliefs and values?

aldona

[Dr. Shane]

Pro- and Anti-War Demonstrations Hit Texas

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Several times the crowd of about 1,500 chanted, "Cindy, go home!"

"You are giving hope and encouragement to the enemies of America," said former California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, a Republican who co-founded Move America Forward, the group that coordinated the rally.

Meanwhile, busloads of war protesters gathered several miles away at "Camp Casey," named for Sheehan's 24-year-old son who died in Iraq last year, for a Saturday bell-ringing ceremony to honor soldiers serving in Iraq. Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 2,000, but it appeared smaller.

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Several families of fallen U.S. soldiers attended the rally, including John Wroblewski and his wife from Jefferson Township, N.J. The couple, whose oldest son, Marine 2nd Lt. John Thomas Wroblewski, died in Iraq last year, said they disagree with Sheehan's beliefs that Bush misled Americans about the reasons for the war.

"We're not for war. I don't think anybody is ... but we've got to complete the mission," John Wroblewski said.

Deena Burnett, whose husband Tom was on the fourth plane hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, said he and the other passengers fought the terrorists before their plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

"Now it's up to us to continue what he started," Burnett said Saturday to cheers from those at the pro-Bush rally.

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[Neil D]

From the BBC

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The president's neighbours are not, in other words, a bunch of city slickers.

They are not sophisticated thinkers on world affairs, they are at home with guns.

I cannot imagine a more hostile environment in which to set up a peace camp.

And yet Cindy Sheehan has done it, and done it with huge success.

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Why has this happened?

Texans have traditionally never believed in getting the troops out of anywhere, much the opposite.

Yet now, they have a "troops out" movement incubating in their midst, within spitting distance of the holiday home of the Lone Star state's favourite son.

There are earth mothers talking about love, hugging each other, swapping recipes for organic stews.

Americans - even Texans - are rethinking the Iraq war, indeed rethinking war itself as a tool of foreign policy.

All the opinion polls this summer have pointed in one direction - out of Iraq.

Not necessarily now, not necessarily tomorrow, but at a date that should be visible from here.

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[Dr. Shane]

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Yet now, they have a "troops out" movement incubating in their midst, within spitting distance of the holiday home of the Lone Star state's favourite son.

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I didn't know Nolan Ryan's holiday home was near there <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />