On this Veterans Day, a friend of ours is welcoming back their son.
He's a Special Forces soldier, just back from Iraq.
We're told that when he signed up, he believed all the lines: Saddam was involved in 9/11, is still working with Al-Qaida, still has WMD despite what the "liberal media" is saying.
I don't know if he still believes that, but he is a military man, and is built to follow orders.
Some people are made that way.
What's that line from Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son?"
"Some folks inherit "Star-Spangled eyes"
You may know active duty or veteran soldiers similar to this Special Forces guy, or military families like his, on your street. You know the types that are flying big American flags at their homes or on their cars today.
Before you snicker at these people, don't automatically assume they are still reflexively pro-War, (as some of them are) no questions asked.
On Saturday, our local daily carried a column by one house/flag-waver who sports the emblem not in favor of this war, but in the hopes that the flag she flies will, in due time, fly over a nation governed by a President who realizes this war- unlike many others we've fought, was a mistake and does something about it.
Sometimes, you talk to these flag-wavers and what you get is, "I wish they would find a way to bring the troops home, but I've got a brother/nephew/cousin/son over there and this is the best way I have to show support."
Maybe or maybe not will these families agree they and their loved one(s) were "fooled again," but so many people are not wired to admit their mistakes.
You don't know for sure what is in the hearts of these people. Except for the fact that they love someone who is in harm's way. They are undergoing the same emotions my Mom tells of experiencing when my Dad was overseas in WW II for three years.
So what I am saying is...on days like today it is OK to oppose the Iraq War. That doesn't mean you should feel unable to support the troops and their families.
Bring 'em home.