United We Stand, Divided We Fall

I think the world is an extremely dangerous place right now. I see trouble brewing, boiling over really, on so many fronts, and wonder when it's going to explode. Here's what frustrates me. We are in such a state of denial about the seriousness of the problem, the determination of our enemy to destroy us and the dire consequences of continuing to ignore the problem. There is so much at stake. We are in a war of ideologies. There will be a winner and a loser. I don't want western civilization and the United States in particular to be on the losing side. Iran, North Korea, Jihadist gathering in the Middle East to fight our soldiers. Clouds are gathering, seemingly from every direction. And yet, we continue to keep our heads in the sand. The cost of our choice to remain blind is to prolong the bleeding. One soldier dies here, another there, the Jihadist kidnap another reporter, chop off their heads, the gruesomness of their savage acts are minimized while any mis-step by an American Soldier is displayed and replayed and made to seem worse than it probably is in reality. This seems backward to me! My husband is a Vietnam Vet. He tells me that road side bomb deaths are the most demoralizing type of deaths for the troops. There is no one to fight against. The bomb explodes and they are powerless to do anything about it. Hillary Clinton has been running her mouth about 'collateral damage' in relation to the bombings in Pakistan. I look at that and see that some top al Quada operatives were killed in that bombing. That undoubtedly has saved American lives. Who knows how many lives have been saved by that one bombing. Score one for the good guys (that's us). Would she rather we have lost 100 American Soldiers going in on foot to kill these guys? I realize her rhetoric is just to find ways to Bash Bush, but I don't have a problem with doing what we have to do to protect our homes and families and way of life. I do have a problem with American Soldiers dying because cameramen are following them everywhere and Monday morning quarterbacks are second guessing their every move with replays and slow motion anaysis ad nauseum. Our guys have to practically get a Jihadists blood type and do a DNA analysis to make sure he's a terrorists before they can shoot him! American Soldier: 'Excuse me, sir. Please let go of the button attached to the bomb strapped to your waist for just a second. We need to verify your identiy before we can take this stand-off to the next level. As civilized Soldiers we expect that you will conduct yourself as a gentleman soldier and .... ' Jihadist: 'Huh?' Looks directly into the camera and smiles, 'Praise Allah.' Boom. When I look at the 'collateral damage' from those bombs in Pakistan, or any American bombs, I weight that against my children's lives, the lives of my friends, family and neighbors and my husband's beautiful grandchildren. Frankly, the scale tips off the chart for me. My problem with this war is that we aren't fighting it aggressively enough. I'd just asoon we cut the dogs loose and have at em. We'd lose fewer soldiers and we'd end the war sooner. We are so careful of 'collateral damage' that our own soldiers are dying trying to keep from killing a non-combatant. If only our enemy were as humane! And yet, our soldiers are portrayed as the bad guys. I read on the web, on all these blogs, and I see a political division in the country like I've never seen before. We are judged by our party affiliation. Are you a democrat? Are you a Republican? That's what matters. MLJ,Jr. Day this year seemed to me to be used for a symphony of racial divisiveness. I've never seen it used that way to that extent before. One speech after the other, one gathering after the other, pushed the envelop on how far someone could go in using divisive language, inflamatory rhetoric. Black vs. white. Republican vs. Democrat. I have always considered myself an 'Independent'. To me it's not about the party - it's about the candidate. Who is the Statesman? Who will put the country before his own personal interests? Who will serve us best? It is freightening to me that so many are willing to put party affiliation before the best interest, indeed the safety, of this country. A country divided. As a united country we are a force to be reckoned with. The mightiest military power this world has ever known. Democrat? Republican? Libertarian? Green Party? We can remain divided. Or heres a new and radical idea. How bout lets be PATRIOTS! Just the comments on Sanity Bluff's post here gives a clue about what we are up against in our own country. Good night all. Sleep tight - our Soldiers are in the desert tonight, keeping watch over us.