Hell Jeri, who knows? I think some of the comparisons are apples and oranges and who can say what to do in a situation they have never known? I can't judge a Soviet defector. I can't judge one person's decision because I' not them. Some put a lot of thought into decisions, some don't. Maybe I'm just in a piss poor mood tonight and I don't need to have this thread keeping me awake and thinking.

Truth is we all judge each other to some degree. Its about unavoidable I think. On that basis I have an opinion as does everyone else. Some would say that anyone who wasn't behind the war was a coward or an idiot or unpatriotic. Others would argue that those who went were dupes or idiots or blind to reality. If you went to Canada you were a chickenshit and if you went to jail you were a hopeless idealist or something. The whole damn thing was nuts. I said it awhile back and I keep saying it..........

We were a generation raised by parents who fought in WWII and who did what they believed. We were taught to do the same....what we believed. Even Davy Crockett through Walt Disney said, "A man's gotta' do what he thinks is right." When VietNam came along we were asked to do what was right, but the world had changed and as we moved onto the playing board, all the sqaures which had always been black or white were varying shades of gray that kept on changing. We moved about the board as pawns in someone elses game, but we moved by the best lights we could muster at the time. These many years later, we are all in our 50's and wondering what the hell it was about. Some never came back either physically or mentally, some are living in personal hells, some have moved on after great turmoil and soul searching, some question the government that would then or now ask their young people to make the decisions we made for the reasons they gave.

For many of us it was a signal event and our lives are forever colored by what we did and what we believed. It was NOT WWII and the areas of doubt affected us all. Read the responses in the threads we run and you'll see some are still confused, some are in denial, some are looking for peace.................We owe it to the children we have not to let that happen again. Yet the best we can offer is the same our parents gave us and that is for the strength to have the courage of their convictions.

The hell with this........Let's talk about New Years!!!

Spaw