There’s an article in Newsweek about soldiers’ last letters home. While it’s far from being “good,” I think it’s helpful that stories are being told. The language used to describe the war has always bothered me. My little brother joined the Navy last September. Most of his friends are in some branch of the military right now, and a few of them are in Iraq. While I do care about them and want to offer them any support I can, you won’t see me with a “Support our troops” bumper sticker on my car anytime soon. Why? They’re not troops, they’re people. And many *people* that join the military now don’t do so becuase of some great reverence they feel for America, or becuase they want to “die bravely to protect our freedoms,” but becuase they’re young and don’t know what they want to do in life. Becuase they want to travel. Becuase they want the signing bonus and a chance at early retirement. And if they do end up getting murdered as a result of joining the military, a headline saying “X more troops died today in Iraq” is just insulting to them.

There was a headline last week about someone being killed as a result of “friendly fire.” Thousands of “civilians” have died at the hands of our “troops.” How are we expected to take the war seriously, or be objective about it, when everything is being sugarcoated? How does “support our troops” mean anything when we take the human element out of it?

Just becuase I don’t support the war, doesn’t mean I don’t feel for the people involved. I support people, not troops. And I’m not about to offer unconditional support to people who rape or torture other people.

The “troops” kill the “emenies.” It’s hard to know how to feel knowing that I have friends that are intentionally killing and/or ruining the lives of people overseas.