why do americans look at war as if it was a football game?

Question

I mean seriously... I don't want to hear about how "we can still win this", because it doesn't matter if we can still win it if we shouldn't have started the war in the first place. Just keep with it, persistence, don't give up, and by the way if you don't show up with a T-shirt with the Team America flag on it, you'll make the other team think they can beat us.

This is all a bunch of crap. I am tired of hearing politicians talk about "winning" the war, because we don't have anything there to win, only to lose. Let's start talking in terms of creating peace, ending the conflict, whatever, but no more "success" or "winning" because it's NOT a football game and it isn't a just war we can feel proud about winning.

Where does this mindset come from? Why do we use this terminology?

Answer 1

Ok...

I think it's really funny that you said that.

We came off a mission earlier this morning and the commander ( who is a football coach in the civilian world) was patting everyone on the butt and saying, "Good GAME"!

LOL!

Answer 2

This question is interesting. To some degree, football is like war in that it involves defending a territory (an endzone), defense and the game demands physical and mental toughness from its competitors and the competitors must follow orders.
There are numerous correlations between football and war. Here are just a few examples:

When playing at University of Miami, Kellen Winslow jr made his famous "I am a soldier" comment.

One of Bear Bryant's assistants at University of Alabama, Pat James lost a brother in World War II. He always exhorted his charges by screaming; "We have to kill those Japs" "You are the guys I want to go to war with"

An NFL special teams coach awards an army helmet to his top special teams player for the week.

This is a very interesting question but not an easy one to answer because I do see your point and agree with it. There is no real victory. It is not like a football game where the final gun sounds and the players walk off the field shaking hands and kneeling in the middle of the field to pray.

Answer 3

politicians arent the only ones talking about winning the war... the intelligent minority of the country believes in winning the war.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag_zypTsyBph9lYh3zuylVgAAAAA?qid=20070117094202AAkpDl3

If you think our only enemy is Iraq, you're nuts and uninformed.

Somalia Syria Palestine North Korea Iran Etc

We control Iraq and have very close ties with afghanistan and israel. If war breaks loose, do you want to fight it over US soil or Iraqi soil.. I'd choose THEIR soil, but it is very probable the terrorists and axis of evil will do anything to damage us physically and economically... even if that means blowing up some oil services, thus making it harder to use planes, bombs, tanks, etc. It will also destroy our economy beyond belief. Its more complicated then the Democrats like to say it is.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag_zypTsyBph9lYh3zuylVgAAAAA?qid=20070117094202AAkpDl3

apparently you think every american thinks the war is like a football game.. but ive never heard that.. ever.. so its hard for me to believe every american believes that.. or did the news tell you every american thinks that so you just jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the morons..?

Answer 4

Except for Viet Nam we have always won. Historians and Hollywood have always glorified Americans in war. Pick up any high school history book and you will see that I am correct. History textbooks never REALLY teach the truth----they teach the government line, which is Americans can do no wrong. Pride will not allow a President to admit that he has made a terrible mistake because he wants to be remembers favorably by historians. Pride is going to be the undoing of this President.

Answer 5

War is NOT a game. In this war, the enemy doesn't wear a uniform. The terrorists do not want to "create peace" or "just be friends" or "end the conflict". You just don't "get it" do you. They think of themselves as fighting the Devil himself (us) and they must win or die trying. So we just can't stop "the war" and go home. THEY WILL FOLLOW US HOME AND KILL US!!! THEY WILL NOT STOP UNLESS AND UNTIL THEY KILL ALL OF US OR WE KILL ALL {ALL} ~ALL~ [ALL], AND I DO MEAN 'ALL' OF THEM!!! IT MIGHT EVEN MEAN KILLING A BILLION OF THEM TO MAKE THEM STOP!! That means going to EVERY country, including the U.S.A., that has any Muslims at all, even if there is only 1, and KILLING ALL OF THEM, TOO!!! "They" are not Iraqi, or Iranian, or Syrian, or Pakistani, or Pallistinian, or any other country, they are all Muslim and they all are fighting for ALLAH, who has told them to kill ALL infidels, including US! They do not think like us, worship like us, act like us, and they don't want to be like us. You can't tell a terrorist from a civilian because they act and dress the same. They are barbarians of the worst kind. Did you think that they did not cut that reporter's head off because the video stopped and you didn't get to see it? They DID cut his head off while he was ALIVE and took the head and showed it the body it just came off of, and the head could not scream, just look at the headless body with fresh blood still pouring from it! They ENJOY KILLING! Have a nice day, because tomorrow you might have to fight for your life. Football game, huh. Allah is their coach. Bin Ladin is their quarterback. Imams are their cheerleaders. Wanna play?

Answer 6

It is your political party. Winning the war means: creating peace, and ending all conflicts. Why don't you want to back your country on that win?

Answer 7

Because someone wins the war and someone loses. It's not a one play game, but it requires a long drawn out process.

Answer 8

Only because the administration and the pentagon decided to "market" it as a high tech game as played out in the gadgets. This Admin also hired a Madison Ave (advertising) executive "to sell" the image that was battered due to this Iraq war game!

My salute to the asker.

Answer 9

I think there is a problem in fighting a covert enemy with an overt army. I think we need an increase in spy activity and coverts means to restrict movements of terrorists and funding.
We can't beat terrorism on a battlefield, but we can foil its efforts to cause harm.

Answer 10

you know you're cool, but i disaregg, you're wrong, so don't talk and enforece your opion in a form of question, football is a game, war is death, come back when you figure that out