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Military personnel do not enjoy the same rights to free speech as the general public do. Think of it this way. You can call your boss a d*ckhead and he can't legally fire you for it if you're proficient in your work, etc. He can't really do a whole lot against you. Things are different in the military, it is strictly forbidden to violate rank. The day you see a seargent call a general a d*ckhead is the day you see a general eat some seargent ass for breakfast, dinner, and lunch. The military is a different world than the civilian one, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Your boss can ask you to do something and you can refuse. Maybe he can fire you for not doing your job, but big woop. In the military if your boss gives an order, it's your ass if you don't carry it out. You don't get to sit around and ask "Why? Why? Why?" all day, you do it or you're in deep shiznit. Getting fired from work isn't a biggie. Getting reprimanded in the military is, even worse getting a dishonorable discharge is very harsh and follows you for life.
On the war thing, much respect to the military for their sacrifices. Being a servicemember is a very important and demanding job that many of us quite frankly aren't cut out for. Most civilians don't have a very good understanding of the military and sh*t on servicemen and servicewomen for no good reason. Military personnel deserve the utmost respect from civilians, it's unfortunate they don't get it.
That said, I'm very opposed to war. I think it'll do more harm than good to our country now and in the future. I think it'll harm our economy even more than it has and accelerate plans for terrorist attacks. I strongly believe that large and at the very least psychologically devastating terrorist attacks on US soil are only a matter of time and will happen again, however I believe they will happen sooner if we attack Iraq without very strong international backing from Western AND Arabic countries. I think Bush is making very many big mistakes that will stick with America for a long time to come and will cost us dearly. I don't believe the 9/11 attacks were unprovoked or unexpected. I am actually surprised it took that long, ask me in 1994 what I expected to happen in the future and 9/11 is basically part of it. America will continue to be attacked until we, as a country, seek out the reasons for hatred and address them in an appropriate manner. Every person who speaks out trying to understand the reasons is just blasted as being anti-American and a terrorist-sympathizer. America always prided itself on difference, openness, and free speech. I am seeing the exact opposite in America today. We have truly regressed.
If we enter a conflict with Iraq, you won't hear me speaking out against it during the conflict. Whether our military should be somewhere or not doesn't change the fact that the military needs the support of the American people. There is nothing worse than coming home to a disrespectful public when you were just doing your job. Just like the police who arrested the guy in the mall should get no disrespect neither should the military. For all we know the cops support the guy in the shirt and the military personnel are against war. Regardless of their opinions they are both charged with upholding the duties of their jobs and following orders, rules, and regulations whether they like it or not.
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