Posted on 07/15/2007 3:36:47 PM PDT by infoguy
The 21-year-old nephew of Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez has enlisted in the Marines, and Lopez isn't happy about it. "Don't become a pawn, I told my nephew," Lopez writes. His column is, "When the reality of Iraq hits home" (Sun., 7/15/07).
Says Lopez:
Some have argued that without a draft, enlisting in this war is a matter of choice, so what happens, happens.
But that's not necessarily true in the case of National Guard troops who have been called up. And as for soldiers as young as my nephew, I don't see enlistment as a well-informed choice but as a product of manipulation.
Not a "well-informed choice"? A "product of manipulation"? At 21 years old? Am I the only one who think this sounds a tad condescending?
So, why did Lopez's nephew join the Marines? Lopez tells us that he has written from boot camp.
"What I want for my life is to stand above the majority," [the nephew] wrote. "I believe in honor, discipline and courage…. I wish to be bigger than myself, to be a part of something more — something important and significant…. I hope that you will understand my reasons for this decision and will continue to support me."
Lopez has a justified worry that his nephew will be deployed to Iraq. Nearly everyone can sympathize with that anxiety. But Lopez claims that President Bush "misled us from the beginning" and "will keep sacrificing lives in a vain and futile attempt to save face." Bush's campaign has been one of "deceit and simplification," says Steve.
"Misled us"? "Deceit"? Ugh. It seems Lopez has bought into the "Bush lied" canard. Being from Los Angeles, Lopez should be well aware of KABC radio host Larry Elder. Lopez needs to take Elder's "'Bush lied, People Died' Challenge." (Scroll down to the lower left of the home page.) It could be that the nephew knows more about the Iraq war than Lopez does.
+_+_+_+_+_+
(P.S. - After reading Lopez's column, I thought of this ... Back in 2005, Californians debated Proposition 73, an initiative that would require minor girls to acquire parental notification before getting an abortion. In an October 2005 column (I found it reprinted here), Lopez talked with a group of high school-aged girls, most of whom were against the initiative. One girl even insisted it was "nobody's business" (Lopez's words) if a 13 or 14 year old had an abortion by herself. Despite misinformation and relativism ruling the discussion, Lopez beamed at the end of the column that he had "much respect" for the girls. Lopez wrote that he hoped his own daughter "will be able to handle herself as responsibly as these girls have." It sounds like these teens have earned more respect from him than his own adult nephew.)
Yeah, now Stevie Boy needs to let his nephew write the next column, in his own words, with no coloration or dilution from his uncle. Let’s see what the nephew has to say about Bush’s “deceit and simplification,” “bullying,” etc., and why the nephew is so committed to enlisting, despite Little Stevie Slimeball’s protests.
Wow! Is he Catholic? Would he like to marry my daughter when he gets back from Iraq?
He is 21 years and thus by law is an adult, this writer needs to go and do what Dick Cheney suggested to Pat Leahy.
Any chance of seeing the MSM plug this argument into the abortion issue? j/k
I try not too ...
Steve, I love my aunts and uncles dearly, and they love me dearly as well. But I wouldn’t let them do my thinking for me. Best wishes to you and the kid.
I turned 18 in 1975 and there was no draft OR selective service registration. I went to register and they said “go home.” I regret not signing up, but there was no mechanism at the time. I could have enlisted out of high school, but I got accepted into college...
I don't think that's implied, at all. A young adult might easily say something like "stand above the majority" about embarking on any course in life that he feels is demanding and worthwhile: entering medical school, becoming a missionary, being a police officer, for example.
In 20 or 30 years, I think he would agree that, no matter what career a person is in, he's "above the majority" if he consistently lives with "honor, discipline, and courage."
IMHO The best way to brain wash a liberal is to give him/her an enema.
Steve Lopez: “What I want for my life is to squirm, as all liberals do, far below the majority — but still pontificate to them as if I’m far above. I believe in mud-slinging, easy solutions and cowardice. I wish to be full of myself, to be apart of something important and significant. I hope that you will understand my reasons for this decision and will continue to support me in this endeavor.”
IMO, this sort of thing has to be pushed by the MSM (of which the LAT is a sad example), since one iron-clad criticism of Cindy Shee Han is that her son enlisted voluntarily. Not once, but twice — both times deployed to Iraq. She maintains he was murdered by his country, but thinking people know; hey, lady. He didn’t see it as the wasteful endeavor you keep saying it is. Obviously!
LOL - very clever!
If you are a liberal, your only framework, model, or reference for the military is Vietnam, as the liberals perceived it.
The fact that this condemns them to be a loser in perpetuity is lost upon them.
How sad it must be to go through life never knowing the value of something greater than self, or victory.
L.A. Times is in the cr*pper.
Old recycled whiny arguments from LA Times ..The Bush daughters should enlist.” Duh! It’s an all volunteer military.
Lopez is digging for dirt if he has to leave L.A. to find a news story in Hemet. Wonder if he owns a hybrid car?/sarc
bump
Joining the military DOES make this kid better than the L.A. Times!
69% of Americans have confidence in the military.
22% of Americans have confidence in newspapers, and I expect the LAT is probably lower.
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=27946
My My!
"Revenue was down 10% in the second quarter, and cash flow down a whopping 27%, making it one of the worst quarters ever experienced."
As far as I'm concerned, I hope their columnists become even more stridently left-wing. The more they do, the faster this paper will literally cease to exist.
You don't understand.
Lopez is a liberal. And, to a liberal, having an abortion is the ultimate joyous expression of faith in the liberal ideal.
Joining the military, on the other hand, is seen as a descent into hell which, of course, is populated exclusively by conservatives.
What perverse people these liberals are...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.