A Dialoge
Two good friends meet in the park.
Jose: Sgt V.?
Stg V: Jose?
Jose: Hey how are you? Man, it's been a while, How's it going? what are you up to?
Sgt V: Well, I am doing good, I just came back from Iraq, my reserve unit got called up and we went on deployment. And you?
Jose: You went to Iraq? Holy Crap! Well, I've been in school, you know, a couple of semester and I will graduate. I've been reading a lot about Iraq you know? this is one of those subjects that really bother me.
Sgt V: Well, I have to tell you, what you see and read in the media is a lot different from what you see over there. It is never the complete picture. Don't be fooled by the bias, every message is biased somehow, even this one.
Jose: Yeah well, I don't know, you may be right about a couple of reporters, but everyone? I don't think so.
Sgt V: I think that for the most part you can tell when a certain newspaper or magazine is biased, but I have read stories about my own unit, reporting events that I have witnessed, and those reports don't match my recollection, I don't think that the make those reports wrong, but two different people will percieve the same event different ways, it's always like that. Like we used to say
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholderJose: That's deep man, but I think there is one serious flaw with the war, shouldn't we be going after Al Queada instead of the Iraqis? Last time I heard, it was them, not Saddam, the ones that attacked us.
Sgt V: First, let me tell you that I am not really allowed to critize my commander in chief, it is punishable under the UCMJ. And the last thing I want is to get in trouble...
Jose: So you are agreeing with me! The war in Iraq is wrong!
Sgt V: Hold your horses buddy! I have not said such thing. What I said is that I don't want to get in trouble. But I've had a lot of time to think about this, When I was there I wanted to know why I was there.
Jose: So you questioned the war yourself?
Sgt V: I wouldn't call it that. But I, like everyone in our unit, wanted to know what we were doing, and what we were doing it for. So of course I thought about it, but you might be surprised.
Jose: Well, I'll tell you what I think, Our Goverment made a grave mistake going over there....
A stranger suddenly walks up to them and butts in
stranger: Of Course Bush made a mistake, he's a f@#king idiot!
Sgt V: Excuse me stranger, what's your name? Do I know you?
stranger: Uh, you don't know me, but just call me Jon for the sake of argument, that's not my real name, but that doesn't matter
Sgt V: Very well Jon
Jose: Nice to meet you Jon
Jon: So like I was saying, Bush in an idiot, He's in it for the Oil only, we should get out. At least they should be honest and call the war Operation Tyranny or Operation Cliche Description of a Malevolent Dictator's Oppressiveness, or Operation Earthfucker, or better yet just call it Operation Blow'em'up...
Sgt V: So is this what everyone thinks? That we are there to blow up people? That we enjoy that crap?
Jose: I don't know, I guess there's always going to be people that you don't agree with, and that is their Constitutional right. You should learn to respect other people's opinions
Sgt V: Don't you see! we are over there fighting for this nation and this is the apreciation we get! This is so much B.S.!
Jose: That's not Jon's point! I am not sure what his point is, oh yeah, that we don't live in a democracy, and that he loves Unicorns
Sgt V: WTF?
Jose: Never mind, I was going to tell you that I think we are not putting our efforts in the right theater of operations, We should be hunting down Osama and his cronies instead of some "insurgents" in some nation that doesn't matter anymore
Sgt V: What makes you think we are not? Remember, just because you don't read it in the news doesn't mean that is not happening..
Jon: You actually trust this goverment to do it's job! Dude you are defenetly on more drugs than me! I'm jealous.
Sgt V: This conversation is so unfair, it's two against one!
Suddenly another stranger walks by and stops
stranger: This Nation must repent! repent! repent! We must spread the word! Pray for the President! God Loves you!
Jose: Excuse me sir, but who the heck are you?
stranger: Well, of course I won't tell you my real name, but you can call me Pat R.
Sgt V: (to the author) This is what you sent to help me? Jeez, Thanks a lot!
Pat: You should be grateful son, I want the president of your country dead! We should Kill Chavez! New Orleans had it coming too! That's what they get for being so sinful!
Jose: Well, I don't think it's right to shove religion down everyone's throat! I have the right to believe whatever I want.
Sgt V: Jose! you are an atheist?
Jose: No I am not, I consider myself a Christian, I come from a Christian family, but I think that the state and church should be separate!
Sgt V: I agree with that, I have seen what happens to a society when church and goverment are the same thing. It is a sad thing
Jon: Dude You are so right! I am going to take a sleeping pill and write that on my blog!
Pat: Son, you should repent right now! what happened to your Faith! Is this what Jesus would do?
Sgt V: Anyway, Jose, we have strayed from the point, let me tell you what I think, you already made your point clear, that a dogmatic arguement for the war does not stand, and that we are going after the wrong group of people, and you have not said anything about the bad image the US has worldwide, which I don't want to get into, but I must point out that the hate EVERYTHING about the states, and that includes the people, not just the goverment, but anyway
Jose: Anyway
Sgt V: I think we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Jon: Nope! we should leave Iraq right now!
Sgt V: I wish we could, but that would make matters worse, I am not a foreing policy expert, but I don't think that would be a good idea,
Sgt V: When we first got to Iraq we were thinking that we did a good thing, getting rid of Saddam's goverment, and all that, but when the Weapons of Mass Destructions failed to appear...boy was that a blow, then the insurgency...funny enough, things did not get bad until 4 or 5 months after we got there, around September or October
Jose: What do you mean?
Sgt V: I think that the outcome of the whole operation was not what we expected and now is too late to get out, we did not get the support of other countries so we are pulling most of the weight, so now the plan is to rebuild the nation and get out as soon as possible, but the nation rebuilding is not an easy task, and of course, security is a big issue, so, I don't see an end to this.
Jon: I told you, our president is stupid
Jose: I don't think he's stupid, of course he is not an intellectual either, but the US is facing a hard time, and I guarantee you that he would be critized if Saddam was still there. There were some mistakes made, but I don't think that they deliberatly put us in this position, remember, we did not ask to be attacked,
Sgt V: Exacly, but we were not attacked by a nation with clear defined borders, we were attacked by a small group.
Jose: What amazes me is the amount of people that hates the U.S for so many reasons
Sgt V: I know, I know, and no matter what, nobody can please eveyone at the same time
I hope that all of those that died over there...Well I want to think that they died for a good cause, but what is good cause to die for?
Jose: Good question, I mean, to die for an ideology? That is alomst as bad as dying for religion
Pat: Jesus died for you in the cross! and the Martyrs died in Rome for Him!
Jose: Also, a bunch of people died in the Crusades for God, and a bunch of people died during the Inquisition and the witch hunts, and during the Great Schism, etc etc
I would say more people have fought and died for God that for anything else, but what do I know?
Sgt V: The thing is, Religion is what unites all those extremist that are fighting us, Islam is a rotten disease that is killing our world
Jose: Oh boy, you just opened a can of worms
Sgt V: You know what, is getting late and I have to go
Jose: whatever man, we are not finished here, there's too much left to discuss.
Sgt V: I gotta go
