In light of all my recently-published work warning against the supposed dangers posed by the U.S. government’s hiring of private military companies to augment its military might, I’ve provoked the ire of some of the readers of my work to the point of action.
I’ve nettled them enough to make them post negative comments to my columns on The BG News’ Web site, to make them write and submit letters to the editor arguing the credibility of my political statements and enough to even have one very loud (and a little rude, in my opinion) student verbally assault me on my way to class while walking across campus.
Some people might not take my comments very seriously, and some people indeed take my statements a bit too seriously. But I’m very glad that I’ve played a part, however small it truly is, in furthering the concept of honest, open debate, and in getting people to be open and honest about their political beliefs.
One of the reasons why I signed on to be a columnist earlier this school year was so that I could express my political views openly, and so that others would write and contribute their own counterpoints and rebuttals so I could better understand viewpoints coming into conflict with my own. Based on the results so far, I would say that I’ve received some very interesting and worthwhile responses and criticisms of my work as a columnist.
I thank everyone who has submitted letters to the editor to The BG News in response to my rantings, as well as those who have posted their own viewpoints on the newspaper’s Web site. All of this is utterly great; columnists and readers are expanding and promoting the concepts of opinionated debate and of Forum in general. It’s fantastic to see people taking an active role in contributing to such a process, and I urge you all to continue your efforts.
But it’s not all fun and games in this column; I have a few important issues to cover. Namely, I need to better explain my positions on certain key issues, as I believe people have been making assumptions about my views due to the fact that I have neglected to fully elaborate upon them in my previously written columns.
Based on the content of the responses to my columns concerning private military companies, I can tend to assume (and this is nothing more than an assumption) that some of my critics consider me to be a bit of an anti-American person – who lives in America! So, please allow me to clarify where I stand on the issue of support for America: I am pro-USA.
Not to sound wishy-washy and indecisive, but I do support the U.S. despite the fact that I do feel a bit different about why our military forces are currently serving over in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, I still get the occasional “you’re a communist!” or “you hate America!” from certain people when I voice my political views and related beliefs.
The term anti-American gets thrown around far too much, and to be a true anti-American is to be an anarchist; I am most definitely not an anarchist.
Put simply, I am an American, and I live in America. I have no reasons to be Anti-American, because occurrences such as globalization, warmongering, theo-fascism and imperialism are not the fault of America; they are the fault of certain people and organizations living in America.
Big difference there, dear readers. I may not agree with everything that our politicians, religious figureheads, and military leaders may have to say, but I am not anti-American.
Furthermore, despite the content of my last column about military politics (which could be easily interpreted as a one-sided slam on organized militaries), I do support the troops. The brave American men and women currently serving over in the Middle East are doing their jobs. They are making sacrifices and they subject themselves to serious danger so that we may live safer lives over here in the United States. That’s not to say that all conflicts and wars can be justified, but the soldiers are not to blame. They are doing their duties. That cannot be denied.
And finally, I realize that I am not an overflowing fountain of knowledge when it comes to politics, or anything else! As Lance Corporal JJ Boone (and everyone who commented on my articles on bgnews.com) made clearly evident, there are some fallacies and mistakes in my judgments and viewpoints regarding mainstream military politics. I realize this, and I thank those who stepped up to challenge my viewpoints and correct my mistakes.
The only thing that I ask is for Boone not to stereotype me. I do indeed play Dagorhir, Mr. Boone, but I am not an Internet-addicted World of Warcraft junkie. Please keep that in mind.
