War time is never a good time for any people. If you think back to World War II, there were very few good things about it - sure, the economy remained buoyant because of the working female class while their husbands fought against all sorts of Axis evil forces. But remember how thousands upon thousands died? Remember Pearl Harbor? You didn't have to be alive; strikes against U.S. soil have notoriously been swiftly returned with brute force. There's death, there's finger pointing, there's arguments and, most of all, plenty of anger.
This country is seeing a lot of anger right now: Anger about the war, anger about subprime mortgages, anger about the sinking economy, anger about gas prices. Yet when I read articles like this, I find that anger (when incorrectly used) becomes a dangerous motivator that will, essentially, bite you in the ass.
You know, I was never a fan of the California left, even when the Governator was elected and re-elected. He's a great governor, don't get me wrong; but there really is a thing as flying too far left for my own comfort. Here, in Berkeley, the City Council has taken it upon themselves to pass a measure urging the U.S. Marines office downtown to vacate their offices. They urge locals to nonviolently protest these offices of "uninvited and nonwelcome intruders." The protesters who took up City Council's invitation claim that the military has given fake promises to our youth promising money, education and jobs, and have not capitalized on that promise. Further, they allege that the military is merely recruiting people to go die in the senseless war in Iraq.
In Charlotte York's first husband's words: All righty. You want the military to leave your city? Then watch as the conservative right swings back: the Semper Fi Act of 2008 has been introduced, and if it passes, it stipulates that because of Berkeley City Council's measure, they will rescind more than $2 million from Berkeley and transfer it to the Marine Corps.
Of course, neither side is backing down. A spokesperson for the Corps recruiting branch issued a statement that there's no way they're leaving, especially when folks are merely exercising their First Amendment rights. The protesters argue they're not going to give up until they pack up and leave, and one goes as far to say "We are the civilian population; we control the military. We the people have to take back control of our military."
Ok, look. This is true; we would not be a free country if we did not have control over our military. But we don't tell our folks where to go in times of war - our President does. That's the way we control our military, by electing their Commander in Chief. We the people have control over a lot of things in our country, but it's only because WE ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE for those in office, not because we ourselves determine the law. We elect people to represent our feelings about these kinds of things; that's the only control we have. If they're so incensed with the war, they should be using their time to research which candidate they're electing to Pennsylvania Avenue in 2008. The ballot is the true power that the American people have. They should not be driving a small constituent of protesters asking the Marines to leave their city.
Further, I would like to see what would happen if someone voluntarily rescinded their right to military protection. I sleep in a warm bed at night because my government, no matter what dingbats we claim them to be, still protects our home land. I don't sleep, eat, walk, work or blog in fear because I wonder if my government will come take me away if I say something wrong against them. I can have as many or few babies I darn well please. I can leave my house with or without a head covering; it's my choice. I can choose to go to a church or mosque or not even believe in a God, because no government official is going to care what otherworldly things I do or do not believe in.
Yes. There are a lot of things I can and cannot do because of our elected officials; ergo, our military. That'll be the day if I ever dismiss that kind of protection.
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