I am a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves. I enlisted because I support Operation Iraqi Freedom and wanted to do my part to help. I am sick and tired of anti-war liberals who are outspoken against the war, but also claim they support the troops. That is really starting to piss me off.

The one thing that pisses me off the most is when people have “Bush Sucks” or “I hate Bush” bumper stickers on their car, and then next to it, a yellow “Support our Troops” ribbon. I am sorry; you cannot support me if you do not support my commander in chief. I do not want your “support.” Leave me alone. Those yellow magnets just anger me in general. The real reason people get those things is so they won’t feel guilty about making absolutely no sacrifices to help America win the war. People who display them think that paying a few bucks for a magnet constitutes “supporting the troops.” Well, how about doing something useful, like sending a deployed soldier a letter or, better yet, join the military. This war is truly a war that asks for the sacrifice of only a small fraction of America. This is why people were apt to support the war at the beginning, and now they can so easily decide not to support it. When people do not understand the sacrifices that are being made in order to bring peace and freedom to Iraq, it makes it a lot easier to turn against it. The media are playing a strong role in turning the public against the war, deciding only to report the negative aspects of the war and never reporting on the heroism our men and women in uniform are displaying on the battlefield every day. Given that the main thing the general public is doing to support the war is to slap a yellow ribbon on their car, how can you expect people to realize what is really going on? Liberals always think that soldiers are somehow less intelligent or cannot think for themselves, saying we were swindled by President George W. Bush and his lies into fighting the Iraq war.

However, in poll after poll of military personnel, support for the war always has remained very high. Members of the military believe the Iraq war is right, and that it can and will be won. The only people who seem to be impatient and are calling for the United States to quit are the ones making no sacrifice at all.

Honestly, a lot of liberals who say they “support the troops” simply use the phrase as a political tool to oppose the war. When Michael Moore throws numbers around on soldiers killed and uses their names and pictures, he really doesn’t give a damn about the soldiers, but he knows he can stir up emotion from the public. In reference to the anti-war Joel Stein, from a column in the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 24, the anti-war crowd needs to say what it actually wants to say: “I don’t like war AND I don’t support the people fighting it.” If you do not support my mission, you do not support me. The 2,241 heroes who have sacrificed their lives to bring freedom to the

Middle East must be taken back by those who actually support them and what they were fighting for. Their names and faces must not be used simply as a political hot button for anti-war activists who hold “vigils” to “remember them” and oppose the war. If I go to Iraq and die for my country, I’ll be damned if someone like Michael Moore or anyone else against this war uses my name to oppose it.

Morgan W. Kavanaugh is a University student and private first class in the U.S. Army Reserves. Please send comments to [email protected].