That campaign was brilliant advertising. Is this story the same?

I am not in favor of the war, but like it or not, we have troops there getting injured and killed. I sure as he11 would not want to be in a job where my life was so on the line. Therefore, although I am against the war, I support the troops. And I would gladly give up my seat so they can get some R&R, to he11 with compensation. Are we that mercenary?

I was hesitant to post this since I know it goes squarely against majority opinion. I was hoping someone else would say it. I was also reticent to post because the following meanders into OMNI territory but it is a direct reply to what I've read numerous times in this thread. Please ignore if you're looking for something else.

I'd first like to preface that I love reading about spontaneous acts of generosity exhibited by the public in rare circumstances. I only wish people in general could actively think of others instead of waiting to be forced to think about them in certain situations.

Anyways, many of you have posted that you are against the war but support our troops. To me this just doesn't make sense since there has been no draft yet in the US. Where, if ever, would you draw the line on this issue? For instance, if you were a German citizen at the time, would you have supported the Nazis and their army in general? To me I would probably have more compassion for them than our troops because many of them did not have much choice in serving. Yes, I'm more sympathetic to those who joined the military before the war broke out and to those who hold jobs in no way related to combat, but regardless of how you look at it, they are directly supporting the war both explicitly and implicitly and they have the choice to leave (be discharged) if they want.

If nothing else, their annoying and possibly expensive commute may help prompt them to consider another line of work (I'd find just about anything more agreeable), and if they have a non-combat position maybe the US will fill that position with someone who had a combat position.

I come from a military family and I have friends in the military, entering the military, and one civilian friend who helps make missiles. I can't agree with their decisions in this regard but I consider them to be good people. I don't even think the principle should be bent/broken for them: I will not support them in their support of the war, and I will not treat them as heros for doing what I consider to be morally wrong.

I believe there are plenty of bad people in the military as well, although my exposure is limited to one semi-recent incident, which I'll share:

I was waiting at the greyhound station to pick up a friend who was arriving soon and I was sitting near to four young men in uniform. The only thing I really remember from their conversation was one of them saying, "Man, I can't wait till I can shoot me sum dune 'coons" and a cacophony of laughter followed from the other three..they just couldn't get enough. I was of course in complete shock and disgust, and actually went to the bathroom to vomit (I didn't in the end). I wish I had collected names and reported the incident. I certainly wouldn't say this is an accurate depiction of normal military personnel but I definitely would question an individual's motivation to join the military, especially at a time like this. To me, a reason like "To support our country" is completely unqualified without an explanation of how it supports our country and why what they personally are doing is right. After all, the Nazis used the same excuse for their actions. (I'm not equating the US to the 3rd reich, just providing an example that should be clear)

I'm sure I'll get responses to this...please try to keep it to what you feel to be constructive and don't repeat what's already been said (that's not constructive and this discussion is slightly OT as well, so it should prolly be kept to a minimum or moved to OMNI)