Support Our Troops

My daughter is an officer on duty in Iraq right now. She's doing her job, serving her country, and loving her God. I am so proud of her for the woman she is and the heart she has toward the Iraqi people. All this is true while I remain absolutely opposed to the presence of U.S. military in that country and the ongoing criminality justified in the name of "a war on terror."

The dilemma of conflicting sentiment is just one of the many currents of concern I face as a parent, student, and friend to a soldier gone to war: how do you effectively support the troops while opposing the war? and, in a mediated environment where opposing the war is so automatically framed as unpatriotic or worse - uncaring of the thousands of uniformed men and women in harm's way, how do I make myself as clear in meaning to support the troops as best as I can by campaigning for an end to the war in Iraq?

Tommi calls when she can. I leave my cellphone on - sometimes to the consternation of instructing professors. Her voice is always one more, next moment for me to know she's still there. When there's Pizza Hut, Seattle's Best Coffee, Subway, and swimming pools to make a base feel like home, it can be hard to remember a war that never sleeps. "War" in the 21st century is an entirely other place to be than many of us imagine. We ought be so much more sober about the decisions being made to remain.

Oppose the war; Support the troops. It's a difficult ground to parse out. The young artist from rural Iowa responsible for the work pictured above expresses his own support for America's soldiers, and I'm grateful. Go here to take a look at a small collection of additional photos, including one where the artist (Ray "Bubba" Sorenson) is pictured. It's beautiful work.

technorati tags: Tommi, IraqWar, support