"Some on the Left..."

A letter in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye this morning. One of its readers was perpetuating the myth that those who oppose the war are disrespectful of the military and the sacrifices they make in these troubling times. Here's the letter in its entirety:

When our son, a Marine Corps corporal, calls home from Iraq, he always asks the same question -- "Dad, do you think the American people are turning their backs on the military?" My response is always the same. "Some on the left, who hate President Bush more than they love liberty, and many in the mainstream media, perhaps, but not the people."

Ed Johnson
Lumberton, N.C.

I know that neither Mr. Johnson, nor his son will ever read this blog. And perhaps there aren't many conservatives who stop by here either. But, let me state that Mr. Johnson has it exactly wrong. We on the left do not despise the military. Many, like myself, are ex-military and have a deep respect for the men and women who serve in far away places in very dangerous situations. Even more of us have no military experience, but have no doubt about the valor and selflessness of our military.

Some of us do, indeed, "hate" Bush; we hate what he's done to our country's standing in the world, hate what he's done to all of our civil liberties, hate that he's allowed himself to be distracted from the primary goal of protecting us all from terrorists (a generous reading of the situation), and hate what he's allowed to happen to our soldiers. We are not blind to history, we are not blind to the trouble that lurks in the modern world. We are just convinced that there are better ways to do things and much better people to do them.

Mr. Johnson, please let your son know; we have not, we will not "turn our backs on the military."