Five years into the war in Iraq, not one service member from Oakland has been killed in battle. Sixty miles to the east, the ranching and bedroom community of Tracy, one-fifth Oakland's size, has lost seven soldiers to the war. San Francisco has had three of its residents perish, while the Central Valley towns of Modesto, Stockton and Bakersfield - with a combined population equal to that of San Francisco - have buried 20 men and women. Detroit, a city of 900,000, has lost one, the same as Ismay, Mont., with a population of 26. It's a pattern that is repeating throughout nation: a disproportionate share of the war's casualties hail from rural areas.
It would also be interesting to see the percentages of rural Americans who go to church, grew up with two parents, and were physically disciplined by their parents. The same disparity would probably be found in those statistics when compared to their urban counterparts. Many raised in the rural United States are still raised to believe that God, family, and country come before self. You will also find that a large portion of rural American men and women are raised to believe that there are some things worth fighting, or even dying for. Not every body has this same belief system, but luckily for our great nation there are still some who do. Do you believe there are some things worth fighting for?
I was raised that way and I did serve my country during the first Gulf War. There are somethings worth fighting for, just as there are some things worth dying for. Many people will never understand this as it is to far outside the realm of their own self absorbed ideals that they cannot fathom it. There will always be evil in this world because there will always be evil people. Hopefully this will always be balanced by people who are willing to stand up for what is right even though they are accused of being hateful. It is popular to call people names who support the war, but maybe before you do that you should take a look at your own value system and find out where you are. Not where it is popular to be. I am proud to be a veteran, an engineer, and to have grown up in rural America.
Posted on 03/18/08 11:55:27
Justice wrote:
The simple fact of the matter is that this war was engineered on lies and the self-serving interests of the Bush administration in an attempt to secure America's largest oil corporations' financial status' through the theft of other people's resources. Unfortunately, there are many ill-educated people in rural America especially, who believe that poor starving people half way around the world who are trying to make a living and had NOTHING to do with 9/11 want to take away their "freedom". In this context, lies as ludicrous as Bush spouted in the lead up to the invasion and occupation of Iraq would be believed by these type of people, who cannot distinguish fact from fiction and who are overwhelmed by their own emotions. Those who are willing to fly half way accross the world to kill these poor starving civilians are of those ill-educated, lower socioeconomic ranks. Education is our only solution, however, the Bush administration has also cut the funding for that area, and the looming recession will plunge the lower-socioeconomic group that breeds the people who serve in the military, into tougher economic times, reducing their chances of education. A vicious cycle indeed.
May God have mercy on the million Iraqis who have died, the over 4 million Iraqis who have become refugees and the countless millions who have suffered because of the lies of our nation. May God give them Peace and Justice. Amen.
Posted on 03/19/08 08:38:27
Garrison wrote:
Yes John, not everyone has a value system of killing non-white people as you do. In the Iraq War, YOU are the "evil" person in this one, son.
Posted on 03/19/08 08:46:23
BrookeJ wrote:
Justice, I like your prayer and will make prayer too.
May God have mercy on the million Iraqis who have died, the over 4 million Iraqis who have become refugees and the countless millions who have suffered because of the lies of our nation. May God give them Peace and Justice. Amen.
Posted on 03/19/08 09:49:50
John wrote:
You are making a racial assumption where there is none to be made. It is a matter of fighting the enemies of my country. I say my country because it will never be yours till you are willing to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic. But I willingly make sacrifices so that you can espouse your venom at those who will always have the moral high ground.
Posted on 03/20/08 16:37:09
John wrote:
I have a prayer for you "May god have mercy on the souls of our enemies because I will have none."
Posted on 03/20/08 16:38:14
bresson wrote:
its great to fight and die for something profound and beautiful but the bush administration and his bushies have manipulated your nobility for their devious ends.
the problem is the iraqis were never our enemy until the invasion. i served 3 years in the late 80s and have a lot of sympathy for our men/women in iraq but this war is an unmitigated disaster driven by ideologues and big business interests. it is a horrible human disaster
Posted on 04/01/08 00:22:03
AJ wrote:
I would welcome Justice, Garrison, BrookeJ, Bresson, and any others who feel what our nation and her allies have done in Iraq to come join me here. After walking the streets and talking to real Iraqis, they might change their opinions. True, not everything has gone right in this battle, it never does in war.
In answer to the authors orriginal question. Of course rural America takes the brunt of war. We are the ones who have defended our nation willingly since the draft ended. We were the ones who volunteered before our draft number was called. We are the ones who run in when you are running out.
You are all welcome, for those rights you hold so dear. Free speech to denegrate the soldier, Free press to degrade the military. These come with a price, I am willing, where are you?
