by Simonne Liberty

Created on: August 23, 2009

How can America claim to be the land of the "FREE" when soldiers are not allowed to decide if they disagree with a war, and want to opt out of it. Many young men who disagreed with the Viet Nam War either ran off to Canada to avoid the draft, or were convicted of a crime and served 5 years in prison, for refusing to fight a war they did not believe in.

Millions of citizens protested the war, yet it raged on. When the people speak, the government does what it wants anyway. Most wars are "POLITICAL DEALS GONE BAD.' The big wigs who decide to start wars, are always at a safe distance from the front lines. When they put out a draft, they use loop holes to prevent their own children from being put at risk.

Many people are not cut out to pick up a gun, and kill another human being.They have no desire for revenge over some political deal gone bad. They are not soldier material, and they become easy targets from the other side, that the government claims are the enemy. When soldiers are forced by government power to go to war, the results are far more disastrous than the need to kill men, women and children.

Men (and now women too) suffer from government intimidation, and coerced obligation. President W. Bush's war in Iraq was started by lies to retaliate against the 911 bombing in New York City. Around three thousand people were killed in the attack. Bush did not waste any time putting a war together for whatever political reason he saw fit. It seemed as if everyone rallied behind him, and supported the war.

His plan was to capture Bin Laden. He spent three Billion dollars a month fighting in Iraq, and other places. Bin Laden was forgotten, and the war went berserk in every direction. Lies of mass destruction weapons being hidden caused chaos, confusion and bloodshed. Soldiers lost faith in the reason they were risking their lives for. More soldiers have committed suicide both on duty and upon returning home, than have been killed in battle.

Thousands of soldiers are still returning home maimed, without limbs, blind, and with injuries that ruined the rest of their lives. They are living with emotional turmoil and nightmares. They have violent episodes of flashbacks. They are filled with emotional pain. Some of these soldiers end up getting involved in domestic violence, or other forms of violence and end up in prison.

Many become addicted to pain medications, or illegal drugs to forget the pain. If a soldier disagrees with a war, he or she should have the right to opt out when the war gets to unbearable for them. The end result of forcing them to continue on is simply inhumane.

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