Hello, everyone.
I have been more and more agitated by those who say it is unamerican to protest the upcoming war/invasion. I've heard it said that to protest the war is to not support our troops--how does that figure? To want to keep them out of harms way is not supporting them?

Have you heard the song "Have You Forgotten?"
My daughter said it made her cry, but it made me mad enough to write my own response, and here it is:
If you haven't heard the song, the lyrics are here: http://www.countrygoldusa.com/have_you_forgotten.asp

I've Not Forgotten

Verse
I'm one of those who say we don't need this war
I'm just not sure what we're fighting for
Our freedom is dear to me, as is this land
We can only keep them if we understand
The world is a mess I know, and evil exists
I'm not just preaching, friend-let me tell you this

CHORUS
I've NOT forgotten how it felt that day
To see my country be attacked
Mourning those we lost on that sad day
I full remember that the towers fell
And brothers and sisters in a living hell
Let me say I've NOT forgotten
But Saddam Hussein is not Bin Laden.

VERSE
Even without the footage on TV
It's still disturbing for me to see
Us angry with our fellow men
For standing up for our liberty
This country has not been one to start a fight
Even after 9'11 we must do what's right

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
I've sent my sons for soldiers
Some have gone away to war
I want them to remember
Just what they're fighting for.

Chorus 3
I've not forgotten all the people killed
From New York City to that Pennsylvania Field
I've watched them rebuild the Pentagon
Those who've left us want us to carry on
I am still worried about Bin Laden
But Saddam Hussein is not Bin Laden

Tag
I've not forgotten
I've not forgotten

Sorry this is so long, but there you go...<img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

I hear people saying we don't need this war
(just the majority of the people of the world)
I say there's some things worth fighting for
(yes, there is, like defending your family and homeland, oh wait we are the invaders)

What about our freedom and this piece of ground?(this war in no way is regarding our freedom, it's about oil)
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start preaching
Let me ask you this my friend

CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?( so a few radicals is enough for us to go to war, what about the 10's of thousands of lives lost due to Americans killing one another)
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?(You are the one that has forgotten., Bin Laden is in no way Iraq)

They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me( buy a new set or try the internet)
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say(what bullshit is this?)
If it was up to me I'd show it every day
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right
(to attack anyone they desire for what ever reason they can find, isn't that just being a bully?)

CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?( have you forgotten all the rights and freedoms your goverment took away from us that day? Have you forgotten the trillions of dollars your goverment has wasted in the name of 9/11?)
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet they remember
Just what they're fighting for(again total bullshit, written by someone who has never seen battle)

CHORUS 2
Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on
And we vowed to get the ones behind Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

WHAT A TOTAL BULLSHIT SONG,, I feel for those whose lost their lives and those who suffered, but the people of Iraq have no more to do with that then I do with the Americans who go into schools and shoot the children.

Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?

Thank you, Pat.
I'll be a back-up singer for you, sister. I spend my days at work listening to Rush Limbaugh on my bosses radio. You'd think anyone who doesn't want war is some kind of nut. It's gotten to me enough I'm looking for another job. I don't get paid nearly enough to listen to him.

You did a great job on the song!

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Still Batty on Mar 14, 2003 ---</FONT></center>

"Hugs To Kuwait -- Adopt A Soldier"

Through the power and the ubiquity of the internet, a military man's wife set up this web site to support the PEOPLE in the military. 9,000 have signed up.
http://groups.msn.com/HUGSTOKUWAITADOPTASOLDIER/homepage.msnw

Nothing like this existed during Viet Nam, obviously. I wore a POW/MIA bracelet (still have it). I found him on the net recently, & he's an MIA. It was good to have closure
though.

Eric told me the other night of a cellphone call his friend Glen received. Unfortunately, Glen's phone was off, so a message was left.

Glen's best friend, a member of the armed forces, left a very tearful (bawling) message that he was being deployed to Kuwait at 0600; the message was left on the cellphone's voicemail just around midnight, last Sunday.

When Eric told me about it, I was just so upset. Then last night he told me about another friend who is a student at the same U I go to. He's just joined the army!

Thank goodness my kid's been accepted into UNC-Charlotte. Instead of seeing him off to war, he and I are driving down to NC next weekend to tour the campus.

My heart goes out to all the kids and their parents. I'm terrified!

i always thought that one of the things that makes america 'great' is the fact that we CAN protest. how did that become unamerican?

i have a very close friend who i've known for 19 years. He's been in the army for 17 of those years and he's been in kuwait for the last 6 months. Up until a few weeks ago we were able to e mail and i m. there are so many troops there now, they had to move further out and now it's snail mail or bust. my letters were taking a week on average to get to him. his letter to me took over 2 weeks. it's not easy when you have to 'wait' and 'not know' but it sure helps keep you focused when you pray!

if anyone wants to write to him, let me know. i dont want to post his address here, but i know he'd love to hear from someone other than 'me'!

back to the topic at hand....i find it utterly offensive that individuals who speak out against this war are being referred to in terms that i wont even type. it just proves to me that the 'powers that be' have to make us 'more wrong' so they can feel 'more right'. it's the 'if i put you down it will make me feel important' syndrome, if you ask me.

where is pat to say all this succinctly and eloquently? LOL

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Sherry on Mar 16, 2003 ---</FONT></center>

Well, you said it very well, Sherry. The neoconservative strategy about everything is to yell accusations over and over. I've learned a little bit about that lately.

I do think there are a few things that the country could do to support the troops. I was just watching 60 minutes and the piece on the reserves. Of course we all knew that reserves were called up and that it's a big financial hardship when a breadwinner is called to go for a while. What I didn't know was that using the reserves is such a successful formula for the services that it's probably going to be that way for a long time to come. That makes a lot of sense, so I was thinking, having your job waiting is a good thing and it worked pretty well for people that I knew who were drafted into the service many years ago, the older reservists have a lot of other concerns. Shouldn't their mortgage payments and at least some other obligations be on hold for the duration? Seems to me that making it possible for their families to get along financially while they're gone is the least that could be done for them.

I read in the paper yesterday that now "most" Americans are in favor of attacking with or without UN/international backing. Who are they asking???

Pat, not just "who" but how was the question asked.

Great song, Pat. Great thread altogether. Bobbi, I saw a news piece about that but didn't get the web address. Thanks for printing it.