"If you are against the war, you must be a peace-loving, tree-hugging, laissez faire liberal who condemns our troops, president and country and you have no respect for national pride and unity...

that is what they believe about anyone who exercises some degree of socratic, discriminating thought.

The number of people that assume they're qualified to judge any one of our reasons for questioning the validity of the war is disturbing. The number of people poised to paint every American as unAmerican who isn't in full support of it is also disturbing.

More than 200 hundred years ago, scores of people fled their country to escape political oppression. They landed here in North America and set to work crafting and defining a new system of government, A democracy in which issues were resolved by popular vote, and the freedom of dissent and the expression of it was foremost on the minds of those drafting the list of fundamental rights.

In this war, in this administration it's "You're Either With Us, Or You're With Them". As though there's no room for questioning, no grounds for intelligent thought or analysis. You may either take Washington words for gospel, with or without substantiation, or you're "one of them". A traitor. And you 'don't deserve the freedoms this country affords'.

Dissent? Unallowed.
Debate? Unamerican.
Free thinker? Find yourself another country.

The idea that disagreement with or criticism of a current administration's decision somehow equates into disloyalty and disdain for the country itself and what it stands for is asinine, and goes against every true and original 'American' philosophy...

Since when did passionate disagreement with a specific President's policy or decision making become synonymous with the bashing of military personnel and blatant anti-americanism?

You are not alone in your thinking Nic, Know that there are many Americans that feel the same way you do.

Cat