If they don't support the war, then it could be that the soldier is the person's closest and most approachable symbol for the war. It is much easier to badmouth/disrespect a soldier because of one's being against the war than, say, speaking out against/to the generals, presidents, enemies, or any other leadership role. One-on-one interaction is much easier, as well, than having to go through the hoops to speak to a leader. They are right there; it might have something to do with the 'instant gratification' thing people love so much. I, for one, think those people are crazy. They make me so mad.

Well, one way could be ideology (like the Far-Left mainly). They just hate the war so much that they will attack anyone in order to be heard.

Other way can be Pacifism (both Far-Right and Far-Left). They just think that if you enact violence for any reason, you are a bad person.

Both are very irrational reasons, so I'll go ahead and say that not supporting the troops is irrational. Unless you are a terrorist... then it makes perfect sense.

But, reasons for being a terrorist are also irrational... so, nvm.

The day I saw a friend of mine sitting down on his computer, showing me the new Call for Duty, after five sequential nights he spent in Gaza, killing a sum of eight people he never met before, right there - I just KNEW something got terribly wrong with this story.

Of course, he has the "He wouldn't hesitate shooting me" argument by his side, plus the "They are enemies" supporting from behind, but I say that if you want to stay alive, you do not cross the line.

You do not hold a loaded gun.

You do not invade a man's home for his neighbor's actions.

I think some people refuse to support our troops because they literally think the troops support the war. If they think the troops support the war, and a person doesn't support the war, that person will associate the troops with the war. These people probably think that because he or she joined the military in the first place, he or she had to have thought that war could a possibility. He or she was willing to take on that possibility, so when they ended up in a war situation, others can view it as directly supporting the war.

However, I support the troops and not the war. I think we've been there way too long and accomplished very little except to have the death tolls grow in number over the several years we've been involved. Yet I do know someone in the war who does not want to be there for the war's purposes. Maybe they want to finish the job because that's what the troops were brought there to do, but this does not mean they necessarily support the war themselves.

I agree with you. The army or other military branch might mean bad memories for a fallen soldier's family when they think about the troops. They might want to just forget the military all together. However, some families might say that their son or daughter served their country well and were proud to have them in the military.

I think that some people refuse to support our troops in the faintest hope that it will help bring them back. If a football team goes and does a play that nobody likes should the crowd boo them? No thats stupid

Maybe they're just pacifists and don't like the idea of voluntarily joining the military and furthering violence. Not my ideals, but that could be a reason.

Perhaps because they have a son in the army, and he was killed, and these parents don't want any other young people being killed needlessly, and so they don't support them. People on this site don't think of things on a low, sentimental level like that. You know?

I'm not sure I agree with the fact that our troops are over in Iraq to protect our freedom of speech. Too many years have passed for that goal to still be the reason they are there. I think the are defending our country for all the ideals set forth in the constitution, freedom of speech being one of them. I think we have to support them until they can come home safely for whatever reason people believe they are still there for. We started a project and have to finish it, and support the good things troops are doing like building schools.

So you think that if we pulled the troops out now, we would be failing to protect our freedom of speech? I think we originally were there to protect our freedom of speech. However, we helped to break down their country, their country not ours, and now we must help rebuild it. It's been seven years and now we have to complete the task at hand: keeping as many troops alive so that they can go home soon. This article, although from 2006, which was three years after the war started, quotes soldiers as saying they need to finish their jobs or Iraq would be in turmoil. They aren't saying anything about the original goals of the war.

What "thing" in terms of freedom of speech are you referring to?

Most soldiers in the military identify themselves with and vote for Republican ideology, which understandably, isn't terribly popular right now.

And I disagree with your premise. The soldiers in WW2 were fighting for my freedom of speech. The soldiers in Iraq are fighting for a political stable source of cheap energy, which my freedom of speech doesn't necessarily need.

Those people might see the troops as a tool for the war machine and thus they are an easy target for anti-war opposition. I am disappointed that less troops speak out against war but i don't necessarily believe it is the troop's fault and even then i still support them because they are human beings.

I do believe that the military indoctrinates its soldiers, in order to make them more "efficient", and also the rigid command structure in the military prevents and punishes opposition to the war even if such opposition is in fact more patriotic or just.

There are some soldiers who do immoral things and they deserve no support if they willingly slay citizens for revenge or other such actions but that is to be decided on an individual basis.

People should support the troops because the troops are merely pawns to be used by the generals and war profiteers. Those who initiate or promote the continuation of the war are the ones who people shouldn't support.