Isn't it possible to be a patriotic American and also be against the War in Iraq?

Question

George Bush said in a speech he gave a few days ago, that essentially if we elect Democrats "America loses and the terrorists win." That is like saying that if you don't agree with the current administration, you are not patriotic. I'm confused...I thought I was supposed to be patriotic to the United States of America...to the democratic process...even to the flag (as a symbol of the country). But to say that I'm unpatriotic because I disagree with the current administration's policies is insulting.

To sjsosulli: Okay, here's the exact quote: "The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses". What other interpretation can you come up with for these words?

To djp8605: I never heard of WorldNetDaily...who is responsible for this website and why haven't I read or heard this anywhere else including FOX News?

Answer 1

Time flies and nothing changes.

This is a quotation by nazi Hermann Goering:

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. ...Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

Doesn't seem the same?

Answer 2

I am on the conservative side of the fence and initially supported President Bush.
If Bush meant that it is unpatriotic to be opposed to the war I would have to disagree with him. There is a difference between decent and being unpatriotic. Every war in the USA's history has had it's opponents. In his memoirs General and former President Ulysses S. Grant called the war with Mexicio "one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."
Now are we to call General Grant "unpatriotic"? No.
Abe Lincoln also was opposed the Mexican war. Does that make him unpatriotic too?
There may be indeed "unpatriotic" methods of opposition to the war but I cannot provide a clear definition as to what it may be. I always thought it was the patriotic duty of a citizen of a democracy to oppose that which is agianst his/her conscience.
If you are doing your duty as a citizen by voting for a representative based upon your conscience rather than petty partisan politics or self-interest then in my opinion you are patriotic.

Answer 3

Well, Bush said it because it's true. We all know that Democrats want out of Iraq-something the Republicans view as the terrorists winning. Democrats think that if we give up, the terrorists will simply go away, and we won't have to deal with them any more. Something, though crazy, was not documented before now:

**ANSWER TO "ADITIONAL DETAILS" QUESTION, ABOVE-- "WorldNetDaily claims to be 'the largest independent, full-service newssite in the world'. WND currently claims 8 million visitors a month to its website." As you can see, it's a fairly prominent site on the web. It was founded in 1997 by Joseph Farah, who has been in journalism for some time, including being a former editor of the Sacramento Union.

Answer 4

It is not only not unpatriotic to disagree with the government, it is downright patriotic to do so. There are many parts of our system of government that are great, but there are a few that absolutely distinguish us from many other countries. One of the most obvious of these is our freedom of speach. that is what gives us not only the right, but the responsibility to speak out when we see something that is wrong.

It is not the governments job to keep an eye on the citizens for unpatriotic actions or speach against the government. It is however, the citizens responsibility to do so with the government. Had the people of this country not spoken we maight have been mired in the jungles of Viet Nam for another decade. It is time the citizens spoke again so that our troops aren't stranded in the sands of Iraq for years to come.

Answer 5

Remember History and the British are coming, the british are coming! I would say that is what you can compare the war against terrorism and the terrorists to. In modern day I think we are the British though and this new style of warfare is very mysterious and unpredictable. Do we want to lose? no, but terrorists are like a real persistant hacker and they will wait and wait, then attack , then wait some more, until the end of time. That's what is on their agenda for the rest of their lives. It's definitely no black and white situation. Disagreeing with something gives you a voice and your heard. That's very patriotic!
The country needs more people like you and we all need to pull together to abolish terrorism in the 21st century. Let's make them our bitches and put some fear of freedom and Liberty into their souls! With that comes education and finding out what we can do to help out. I love being in a free country and having the ability to make a choice in my life.

Answer 6

No. It's feasible to PRETEND. Pretending to be a patriotic American even as being a Muslim is like conserving a knife to lady's throat so you'll rape her however then telling her that you just love her. It's nonetheless rape. Being a Muslim way serving to Islam take over, simply be calling your self a Muslim. The extra Muslims, the extra energy Islam has in a nation. The extra energy it has, the earlier that nation falls. And then they burn the Constitution and the entire liberals can take a seat round blaming Bush and Fox information for 'angering' the Muslims, who're magically by no means in charge for his or her possess trendy atrocities.

Answer 7

Preserving the democratic process is truly patriotic. No true American would call a person who votes and disagrees with them unAmerica. This new generation of neocon mutants doesn't seem to realize that.

Things are a little strange now. The liberals have been put in a position where they have to fight to preserve this country's establishments.

Over half of the country is now against the war. The only things that are going to lose are Bush and his agendas.

Answer 8

To Be For the war in Iraq does NOT make you a patriotic American . To be against it may not do it either . There is a hell of a lot more to it than to just agree or disagree with George Bush .Be a law abiding citizen , respect the flag , have compassion for the troops that went over there , they did what they were told without much choice . Don't forget to vote .Stay abreast of the goings on and make up your own mind about politics . Nobody can butter you up or make you feel guilty if you don't agree with them . Their ulterior motive is easy to spot .

Answer 9

Yes, it is definitely possible to be a patriotic American and also be against the war in Iraq. Being a patriot means you love your country and the freedom you enjoy as a citizen. You can still love your country and believe that the war in Iraq is a bad thing for any number of reasons.

Let me help un-confuse you: The reason President Bush said the terrorists would win if the Democrats were elected is he believes that Democrats are soft on terrorism. And as much as the liberals would deny it or bash Bush, he's got a legitimate gripe.

The Democrats advocate tolerance, diplomacy, and providing economic opportunities to Middle Eastern nations in hopes that this will improve their view of the U.S. What they don't understand is al-Qaeda is made up primarily of Arabs who are upper-middle class or descendents of aristocracy. They're generally well-educated and well-traveled (the four men who flew the planes on 9/11 were all college graduates), and yet they believed the greatest thing they could do was martyr themselves and kill thousands of innocent people in the process.

It's always better to talk things out than to blow things up, but there comes a point where you have to realize that no matter what you do your enemy is not going to listen to you. These terrorists can't be bought, they can't be reasoned with, they can't be bargained with, they don't respond to idle threats, they have no remorse so you can't cry to them.

BOTTOM LINE: The terrorists are the Terminators of the Middle East. Their mission is to kill Americans because they believe they will be rewarded by Allah if they martyr themselves, and they absolutely WILL NOT STOP. Death for them is the most glorious thing that could happen. How do you reason with people like that? You don't. As sad as it is to say, and as hard as it is for many Americans to accept, they will continue to kill as many Americans as they can and the only way for the U.S. to stop them is to kill them. It really is us or them. I vote for us. All opposed?

Disagree with the war in Iraq if you like, but don't believe everything the mainstream media tells you. We DID find stockpiles of WMDs there, and we have captured or killed over 50 prominent al-Qaeda operatives -- my friends and colleagues who have done tours in Iraq have seen them with their own eyes.

P.S.: You are a patriot if you love your country, even if you don't love what your elected leaders are doing.

Answer 10

Yes. Being patriotic means you believe in your country, it does not mean you don't have the right to question the motives and behaviors of the administration. If you feel the country is headed in the wrong direction but do nothing or say nothing-then you are being unpatriotic. It is your job as a citizen of this country to make sure what is being done to and in the name of your country is the right thing. Being a patriot is not synonymous with being a sheep blindly following the shepherd.