GUEST, once again you attempt to avoid the real issue and shift the premise away from your vulnerabilities. I did not, nor have I ever asked you to revere or honor me or any vet. In fact, if one goes back to the beginnings of the friction between you and I, they will find that it was because I only asked that you leave one thread for those folks that simply wanted to say thanks on Memorial Day. But you just couldn't get past your bitterness. You had to hijack it and turn it into a rant, instead of leaving it for folks to remember sacrifice. Fair enough. But when you did that, you made yourself a target for the same sauce.

Now, back to the point. I did not ask you to honor or revere vets. What I did ask you was whether or not you could at least respect that folks that went were acting on what they considered to be their duty. And I specifically asked if you could respect that. In your obfuscation and dodging the issue, you have answered.

SRS, fair enough. I did not mean to imply that the military was the sole reason we have these liberties and rights that we have. My opinion is that the rights and liberties we have are our core values. These are what define, or should define, when we use military force. It is only in the defense of core values, or an attack on our soil or citizens, that we should be willing to fight and die. Therein is the catch. And therein is where the civil libertarians, political activists, union and social activists, et al come in. Their job is to be vigilant about these liberties and rights within. The military's job is to deal with threats from outside. I do not hold one to be more valuable than the other. As I said earlier in this thread, and in other threads, I admire folks that stand up for their beliefs and principles, even if they are not mine. I believe we left Vietnam, in large measure, because of those opposed to the war.

Mick