by Jinianne Lutz

Created on: September 27, 2009

Anyone who has, or is, serving in the military should be treated with the respect that comes from putting your life in the line of fire every day. Considering this fact alone, protesting in front of military recruiting offices should not be allowed.

Whether or not you agree with wars in far-off places like Vietnam, Korea, or Iraq, picketing is a sign of disrespect shown to our troops. Our present military force is an all-volunteer group. These men and women have chosen to defend our freedom by helping people in impoverished countries attain their freedom. Freedom is never free; blood will always be shed in any fight for freedom.

Protesting a war is not the issue. The issue is a person's inability to look at the military troop who may come home in a coffin or disabled. Protesting a war by picketing is not the way to show your disagreement. Instead, look at your elected officials. If you are not in agreement with the way the government is running the country and making decisions, research your officials and vote in a different way next time. You can voice your opinion through the voting process, the Internet (set up a blog), letters to your newspaper for editorial publishing, and letters written to your elected Senators and Representatives. Protesting peacefully may sound like an oxymoron, but it needs to be done in that way.

United States citizens should be wholeheartedly supporting our troops, regardless of our opinions of the current war in which we are engaged. Thanking a soldier as you pass him in the mall or at a restaurant lets him know that you care. Walking around with protest signs humiliates the soldier whose best friend is still fighting, injured, or dead.

I'm not saying that protesting is bad, but protesting used as a means to express your opinion of the war is detrimental and demoralizing to all our of troops and their families. The troops may feel hatred, although not directed at him personally, the negative connotations associated with a protest wounds him emotionally.

If you are protesting because your loved one is in the military, think of what you are doing to her. Through protests outside military recruiting offices, you may be subconsciously telling your loved one that you don't value her decision to fight this war and that you feel embarrassed by her choice. Our troops need our total support and prayers, not pictures of their parents holding up signs belittling the war and its efforts.

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