Where there's a Will, there's a way

There's a letter to the editor in today's State Journal-Register that I think is worth re-posting.

More people would care if their child was in Iraq

First, thank you to the few people who are trying to do their part to end the war in Iraq. Not only am I exhausted from lack of sleep and worry about my own son being in Iraq, but angry that I am one of the few people in central Illinois who is speaking up about the war and the necessity to end it. It is hard speaking up when the press doesn’t cover peace events or print anti-war letters.

For the most part, people don’t want to speak up because they are apathetic. It doesn’t affect them or their lives, so they don’t care. Maybe the fastest way to end the war is to reinstate the draft, because if your child was the one there I am pretty sure that all of a sudden you would care.

Let’s get your kids’ boots on the ground. How about that? Maybe if the press was concerned their kids would go, they would even report the truth. Then the multitudes would be in the streets and bombarding their elected officials with calls and letters.

Ray LaHood told me he gets calls mostly about high gas prices. Pretty shallow concern when people are dying every day — and for what? He votes what his constituents want, so he continually backs the continued escalation of the war. I guess that is what you want?

Cindy Kaylor

Niantic

Too often "support the troops" is used as a slogan by those who are more concerned about people supporting the war. You can tell the difference between those who really support the troops and those who are using the troops for political purposes by their attitude toward troops who come home and speak out against the war. When those conservative commentators start attacking any veteran who speaks out against the Iraq war, it reveals that they're more concerned with the political future of the Republican Party than they care about the future of the troops. Veterans and soldiers deserve personal support no matter how they feel about the war.

I don't know Cindy Kaylor but I'm thankful that she expressed her opinion of how people should support the troops. Its a view that always made more sense to me. The fact that I have friends in the military is one of the reasons I opposed the war in Iraq before it began.

I think Ms. Kaylor is wrong about one thing. There are a lot of people speaking out against the Iraq War because they want soldiers to come home safe.

What's lacking are political leaders speaking out. Its amazing how easily most politicians can be scared into doing the wrong thing with the simple threat of calling them a left-wing wacko peacenik "cut and run" appeaser. The war in Iraq will end when more Congressman are scared that they won't get re-elected if it continues.