Support our troops

Support our troops\nThere is a huge difference between protesting the war in Iraq and protesting the presence of the U.S. military in Iraq. I can't name one person who is in favor of war nor can I think of anyone who would say that war is a good thing. Hundreds of thousands of men and women from our country are over in Kuwait, Iraq and neighboring countries fighting for us. Yet the very people they are giving up their lives to defend are taking to the streets to protest their actions. For every person that signs a petition saying they don't support the war in Iraq and for every person that marches down the street opposing U.S. involvement in the Middle East, take a minute to look at where you are standing -- this is U.S. soil and you're lucky to be a citizen of this country. \nI believe in a person's right to speech, to protest, to voice their opinion in times of war; but I also believe it is necessary that we support our troops as they battle Iraqi opposition.\nThere is a young man by the name of Specialist Jonathan Richard Smith, part of the 208th Signal Company stationed out of Ft. Bliss, Texas, that is now residing at Camp New York somewhere in the midst of the desert sand in Kuwait. Jonathan is 23 years old, has two older brothers and brown eyes that would bring you to tears if you stared at them long enough. He is your typical Army soldier -- a young man who joined the military after deciding he just wasn't ready to finish his college career and needed some direction in his life.\nGo ahead and ask me if Jonathan enjoys showering once a week in freezing cold water or how he feels when he lays his head against a cot in a tent that reveals nothing but blowing sand. Ask me if he misses his mother, if he worries about her and hopes she is holding up OK. Ask me what he prays for when he falls asleep next to 40 or 50 other soldiers. You are only kidding yourself if you think that he wants to be there anymore than you or I would. You are only lying to yourself if you think these servicemen and women wanted this war. \nEvery day I read through a list of people who are missing in action, prisoners of war, or worse yet, no longer with us. I cross my fingers that I won't recognize a soul. But every time I look at their faces I see Jonathan. I see his smile, his eyes, his rugged hands and his straight teeth. I can hear his laugh. As we all go about our lives and continue to obsess over who will be the next American Idol or what drink specials Kilroy's is running on Thursday night, don't forget about our soldiers. \nEven if you do not support this war, support our military. Blame President Bush for the war, blame our government or blame those in positions of power. But don't blame our troops for this war. The military receives its orders from a higher chain of command. And when they are ordered to go, they go. No questions asked.