Please help me understand

[dogdr]

I am very grateful for the men and women in our military. what they do for the rest of us cannot be repaid, especially those that give the ultimate sacrifice. what i dont understand is all these people that hate Bush because their son or daughter or husband was killed in service, or are currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Isnt it common knowledge when you sign up for the militry service you may be called upon to fight in a war?? I understand that they are upset about losing a loved one, or are worried about them. I know the feeling- my best freind from college was in Iraq for a year, and my brother was doing missions in Kosovo a couple years back. BUt no one is forcing their family to join up, and they have got to know that a war is a potential consequence of militry service. Am I missing something??

[CalHunter]

There are probably many reasons why various parents are acting that way. Although we may not agree with what they are doing, these parents/family members are dealing with their grief over losing a loved one in the best way or only way they know how.

1. Children are not normally supposed to die before their parents and this is always one of the hardest things in life to deal with. There is always a lot of guilt for a parent and soul searching, wondfering if they could have or should have done something different to prevent the untimely death of their child(ren).

2. Grief over a loved one dying. Not everybody grieves in the same way. It is a huge loss for anyone and some people simply lash out at anyone or anything connected with the death of their loved one. Trust me on this--I have witnessed this from personal experience in notifying people that a loved one has died.

3. Political principles or beliefs. Some people simply don't believe in war for any reason and are never going to see the death of their child or loved one as honorable or given for a good cause. These people would have been critical of the person joining the military in the first place and will be even more critical now that their loved one is dead. Although we may think it dishonors the memory of the deceased service member, these type of people simply don't look at life that way. Their personal (or political) beliefs supercede even the wishes and personal beliefs/convictions of their deceased service member loved one.

[kevin1]

I knew what I was signing up for when I took my oath ,
and I signed anyway .

[frizzellr]

When I joined I realized that I was joining the U.S ARMED Forces, meaning that it could hit the fan any time and I had the possibility of being in the thick of it. Many of the young kids these days are joining to get through school thinking it is a job just like working at McDonalds. Sad situation for those of us who joined to serve our country.

[Whitehorse]

I know this is cynical, but I feel that much of this is manufactured by the Bush Haters. They ignore the hundreds of families who understand the military & honor the sacrifice their family member gave to find the few whose hatred of President Bush was pre-existing.

[Coastie]

While the individual that enlists may very well know and understand the risks involved, it is they and not their family that enlisted. There are many that serve over the objections of their families, enlisting because of their own regard for our country and a desire to make a difference. At least some of the families making the most noise are and were anti-Bush and nearly un-american before theirkids went in.