Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Sincerity Returned Where None Was Offered
One of the most powerful arguments used by the anti-war left, to date, exists as a rhetorical question: “If you think this war has a noble cause, why don’t you enlist?” It’s an insincere question, because no answer can be offered that will soothe the anti-war passions of the person inquiring. This is easily proven.
What’s the most convincing answer that can be given? “Right you are, I’m on my way to the recruiter’s office.” Thousands upon thousands of people have already offered that very answer. They enlisted. They served. Some of them got deployed. Some of them fought, some of them died. In the face of that, the fact that the question is still being asked of others, proves that the question is immaterial.
But I’m a believer in being sincere when these arguments are explored, even if the other party isn’t so sincere. “Because they want guys half my age” would be an accurate answer, but it would not be a sincere answer.
Sincerity doesn’t simply arrive at truth; it consists of truth. And the truth here is, if I were to enlist, and somehow accepted, my enlistment would be irrelevant to the argument — as demonstrated above. The truth is, also, that we have a faction of private citizens who have the right to speak out in favor of the war, because they do not serve. We can’t win without these people. Without any opposition to the noisy, angry, bitter Government-Entertainment Complex of the Left, support for the war would evaporate overnight. The morale of our troops would deteriorate bit by bit — a pretty awful scenario, although admittedly, it’s not my job to do anything about it. However, public sentiment would turn toward bringing the troops home no matter the consequences. Then we’d leave Iraq and Afghanistan, in disgrace.
This would happen regardless of whether things went okay on the battlefield or not.
There is precedence for this in Vietnam.
So in the interest of responding to the question truthfully, with sincerity returned where none was offered, I give my answer. “I’m remaining a civilian so I can keep my right to speak out against people like you. Somebody has to.”
Follow-up: “Why is it important to you that everybody who disagrees with you, enlists, and thus abdicates their right to say anything? Is this what it takes for you to prevail?”
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