Anti-War Blogs
I don't think that Anti-War blogs are especially novel and most aren't that interesting (spouting the same tired pap we've been hearing for awhile now). The Military takes a slightly different view:
From Fox News:
"Leonard Clark, an Arizona Army National Guardsman stationed in Iraq, paid a steep price for using a blog to share his overtly anti-war opinions — he was demoted for putting American troops in danger."
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I think soldier's blogs are an incredibly helpful resource for all of us here at home to know what is really going on "over there". On the other hand, I find a soldier's anti-war --or more accurately anti-mission-- musings to be somewhat suspect since I'm not sure if it isn't more a matter of being homesick and wanting to get back home. And I wonder how the soldiers in the same unit feel. Does he really have their back?
posted by Presley Bennett @ 8/06/2005
2 comments
2 Comments:
It's quite the conundrum alright. How far should we take the right to free speech. There are those who will tell you that there should be no limits whatsoever. I'm not one of those. I believe that in plotting the boundaries of free speech, we are at the same time determining what behaviors our society judges to be acceptable.
There's an old addage, "your right to swing your fist ends where my face begins." Its just a simple matter of asking the question, "does this harm anyone?" If the answer is no, which seems to be the case even in this Fox News article, then there is no reason to restrict it.
Also, there is a definate distinction between being "anti-war" and "anti-mission," just as there is a difference between supporting the war and supporting the troops. He knows that his first duty is to his fellow soldiers (which is incidentally a likely part of his reason for being anti-war) despite whatever political views he may have. I think his unit knows that, too.
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