Read this online and felt compelled to share it

Submitted by
[email]JRBoyette@sigecom.net[/email]

------------------------------

An open letter to the Dixie Chicks:

Earlier this week, while performing in London, you stated that you were
ashamed that our President is from your home state. I wonder if you realized
how many Americans would be listening. This American was listening.. This
Texan is ashamed that you come from my state. I serve my country as an
officer in the United States Navy. Specifically, I fly F-14 Tomcats off
carriers around the world, executing the missions that preserve the very
freedom you claim to exercise. I have proudly fought for my country in the
skies over Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan without regret. Though I may
disagree wholeheartedly with your comments, I will defend to the death your
right to say them in America. But for you to travel to a foreign land and
publicly criticize our Commander in Chief is cowardice behavior. Would you
have so willingly made those comments while performing for a patriotic,
flag-waving crowd of Texans in Lubbock. I would imagine not. How dare you
pocket profits off songs about soldiers, their deaths and patriotism while
criticizing their Commander in Chief abroad, even while they prepare to give
their lives to ensure your own freedom of speech. Please ask yourself, what
have you done to deserve that sacrifice? Do not try to justify your comments
by claiming that you made them only because you care about innocent lives.
Never once in our history have we committed troops to war for the purpose of
taking innocent lives. We do it to protect innocent lives, even yours. If
the world leaders of the late 1930's had the vision and courage of our
present Commander in Chief, perhaps the evil men who caused the death of
millions in WWII would have never had the opportunity to harm a soul. The
potential loss of millions of lives in the future at the hands of today's
evil men necessitate action. In a separate correspondence, I am returning to
you each and every Dixie Chicks CD and cassette that I have ever purchased.
Never again will I allow my funds to support your behavior. All you have
done is to add your name to a growing list of American "Celebrities" who
have failed to realize that they have obtained their successes on the backs
of the American blue-collar workers such as our servicemen and women.

To Natalie Maines: This Texan, this American will continue to risk his life
to guarantee your freedoms. What will you do to deserve it?

Name: LT Layne McDowell
Date: 03/15/03

Suddenly the Dixie Chicks don't have free speech?

I agree 100% with dave, WTF is that?

Paraphrased from somewhere else -> "I support the soldiers, I don't support the war or the president."

so explain how.....
how can anybody support the "troops" and not support the war or the Commander in Chief............whom is the TOP of the Military ladder..........

Thats like saying You Like Pizza but hate tomato sauce and also hate cheese, Bread ect........

How can you not support a War against someone such as Saddam and his Government when it is as plain as the nose on your face he HASNT complied with the cease fire agreement that ended the attack on Iraq at the end of the gulf war.....

If he had complied where is the evidence of the destruction of all the chemical and biological weapons he possessed, not to mention the SCUD missiles in which he HAS fired on Kuwait he claims he dont have any of ...hmmmm

If he had complied then we wouldnt be there now....

How quickly we forget sept 11...........

Remember when it was said if you aid , harbor or fund terrorists then the US was going to come after you ?
seems EVERYONE in the US agreed with that then but now when it is PROVED that Saddam not only harbors terrorists but he FUNDS and helps TRAIN them too!!

What happened to the balls of the people that are protesting ?

Now back to the original post ....
I agree with the wrighter its pretty damned ignorant to condem your nation in a time of war or frankly anytime especially when abroad...
Seems they have no problems taking the money from CD sales or concerts from this nation that so offends them.....

I am NOT in the minority in this belief you are! If you look at the country top 40 just 2 weeks ago they had the number 2 song in the nation today that song is not even on the charts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can support the people making the pizza (soldiers), even if I don't like the person who ordered the pizza (pres), or the pizza that was made (this war).

I see no contradictions in that.

didnt say the people making the pizza said Pizza........

And what does it have to do directly with the war or lack of war?
He was told to disarm and we would (at that point we was the UN )
stop kicking his countries ass.......he partially disarmed then did no more , we gave him 12 years to do it and to this VERY day he hasnt done it so we just comence on kickin ass , when the dust clears he will be a nobody and a has been, the Iraqi people will have freedom of his EVIL control and the ability to use the Money from all that oil for the betterment of thier country...

tell me whats so wrong with that?

my point was your analogy was off base and made no sense. If I was saying we should kill sadam, but we shouldn't go to war and the president is a bad person for causing the war, then yes your analogy would make sense.

I said I supported the soldiers (the ones actually out there doing the dirty work, getting killed etc.) but not the president or the war. I changed your analogy to one that fit the situation. It isn't all one pizza with lots of ingredients. The war is the pizza (ok yeah it has lots of ingredients), the president is the one that ordered the war, and the soldiers are the ones making it. See?

Er, this isn't my actual opinion but:

I can support troops, because they feel it is their duty to join the army. That's how they feel, they can go ahead an do it. I support these people because they replace me so that I don't have to be forced into doing something I don't want to do (such as battling to the death with weapons against people I don't even know, yet are probably just as eager to get out of the army and live a normal life without beind forced to do things for their insane leader) I can also say that I don't support a war because it's all about money and power and we couldn't care less about how peaceful the rest of the world is, as long as we're the boss of everybody else.

I think the above doesn't contradict itself at all. What it does is simply state that I only care about myself which I believe people are allowed to do. Being self-centered is looking out for #1, and I am #1!.

Again I wanna say that this isn't my personal belief, it's just something somebody could say w/o contradicting themselves and giving the truth that they are indeed self-centered.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Drill for oil in Alaska, who cares about the varelse! (PM me on forum if you actually understood that comment!)

mmm pizza...

i hate how the media portrays anti-war demonstrators to be anti-american or as if the demonstrators want the soldiers to die or something. the reason these demonstrators (most of them) are out there is because they dont' want the soldiers to die. in fact, i would even go as far as saying that anti-war demonstrators are ones who's truly looking out for all the soldiers and even the citizens of iraq.

someone said we have right to blow up iraq because saddam has been known to associate with terrorist... do u realize americans both armed saddam and taliban in the past so that they can fight off soviet union?

i am by no means trivializing the events of 9-11 or how evil man like saddam is... and some people might accuse me of being naive because i think things can be solved without killing the people of iraq (who i think are the biggest victims of this war) but i say the people who believe more violence is the answer to terrorism is the one that is naive.

unless we are prepared to wipe out all the terrorists, their families, friends and anything short of complete destruction of these people, violence will only create more violence.

*Lights his lighter and waves it above his head*

You Tell It JinDokGhe! I agree with your post 100%.

I am not going to get into any mombo-jumbo stuff about war and this history of this idea of solving problems in the world. I am just going to speak my own mind and say that I am another individual of the world that believe that war is not the answer, or any violence for that matter, to any problem that we might get surrounded with in our lives.

Yes i agree wit hit as well.

Americans ,in my perspective, Tend to not like things if it goes against what they are doing. George Bush obviously doesnt like the protestors because they dont agree with what he is doing. I admit it noone likes for people to criticize their work, i dont , noone does. But my work doesnt involve the killing of our own people as well as people who are trying to defenc their country.

Has anyone ever sat back and thought * maybe, just maybe they like being under his rule* we dont like it, i dont like the fact that he kills his citizens over stupid stuff* but they are in a different environment than we are. they had to grow up with differnt values differnt environments different everythign so the yare used to it. What i am trying to say is.. why would u defend a country thats done so many wrongs to you when the country you're at war wit his willing t oallow you to surrender and put u in a better condition than u were living in b4? why? maybe because someone actually loves there country enough to put that to risk. But its a dumb risk. if u got more than 75% of another country wiling to fight. why are u going to risk the lives of your citizens who are just jolly with the way things were so u can save that 25%????

This thread is making me hungry

Well, I'm new to SL as of last night 04/03/03 and would like to say hi and I love pizza also....mmmm...mmmm