Americans are once again being called upon to “support our troops putting their lives on the line for us”, and once again, Americans are responding, according to polls. Many who only yesterday opposed the war for good reasons, are today caving in to an emotional, nonsensical appeal.

It is, once again, considered unpatriotic to oppose a war once our troops have been committed. The real irony here is that we should have learned how disastrous that attitude can be from our many years in Vietnam, and the people who seemed to finally learn that lesson… the baby-boomers who led the Vietnam protests… are the ones now caving in to the same appeal.

Somehow, our political leaders have managed to “unteach” a lesson that was so bitterly learned. We have fallen for it again.

Our opinion on the rightness or wrongness of our government’s action has little effect on “our troops”, so why is our “support” important?

If our troops could know of our support, what would it tell them?

Yesterday, like most people around the world, we thought this war was unjustified, even immoral. That was yesterday, this is today. Our President has put you into it now, and we expect you to win, no matter what it takes. We know that you may be throwing your life away for no good reason, but we now support that. Naturally, we hope that you aren’t killed or injured, but we won’t flinch at casualties, body bags, or flag-draped coffins, because we’re now patriots, supporting you. You are our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers and we’ve conceded to emotional demands to sacrifice you for a cause most of the world doesn’t even understand. We have united behind putting you in harm’s way. We will damn anyone who continues to oppose this war… anyone who claims that we’re wasting our young people. Should you discover that war is ugly… or that you are fighting civilians… or that you find the odds so lop-sided that winning doesn’t seem very honorable… remember that we’re behind you 100%. We support this war, and we expect you to do what you’re told.

Isn’t that just what about 20% of our population is saying today… those who yesterday opposed the war, but today are supporting it? Isn’t that what many of the legislators who zipped their lips today are saying to our military?

Are we a nation of unthinking lemmings? The unfortunately predictable rise in support for the war, once the commitment was made, may be the most pathetic and destructive attitude ever sucked up by the American people.

It’s a warmonger’s ace-in-the-hole. It’s what the Hitler’s of this world have counted on for centuries… that, once committed, the people would feel compelled to fall in line.

Bush knew that a huge number of Americans would fall for it again, and they have.

This war comes very close to the epitome of an unjustified pre-emptive strike against a nation that poses no threat to us. It’s damned close to as bad as wars get, and a huge number of citizens of the world stood up and said so. Nevertheless, our chickenhawk Supreme Commander played the “support the troops” card and America fell for it again.

Even though our President asked the Iraqi people to stand up against their government, he would consider it traitorous for us to do the same. Even though Bush is asking the Iraqi military to throw down their arms and abandon their nation to us, our military is expected to follow orders blindly. Even though Bush has demanded that other governments support a war their own citizens don’t support, American citizens are expected to fall in line behind our government.

Certainly the worst effect of the “support our troops” appeal is that Bush, and the rest of the world, will interpret it as “support for the war”. All over the world today, people will justifiably assume that the American people are in support of this war. Bush will allow himself to believe that he can get away with any action he chooses to take, no matter how nonsensical, unjustified, or dangerous. We’ve virtually given him carte blanche for warmongering. Worse… we’ve encouraged it.

If you are one who has changed your position on this war to “support our troops”, please think about it again. This war was wrong yesterday, and it is no less wrong today. You’re doing nobody a favor, especially the troops, by caving in, and you’re probably dooming the U.S. to a long series of conflicts that could even send us into another World War.

Don’t be swayed by the gutless legislators who changed sides today. Of all Americans, they have the least courage of their convictions. They’re afraid to stand up and be counted, as have some of their peers in other nations. They’ve declared that they’re not willing to lose a vote by being honorable. They’ll declare that they’re doing it for “national unity”. German legislators 60 years ago undoubtedly said the same thing.