Commercials in Support of the War

Wow. The last couple of days I've noticed that there are commercials on TV in support of the war in Iraq.

Somewhere logged in there amidst nightly ads for McDonalds, Viagra, and Target we have soldiers (or people acting to be soldiers) speaking of their service in Iraq and how important our mission there is.

This war is a controversial war. The American death toll stands at over 3700 people and it is added to each and every day with between three and four people being killed.

War under the best of circumstances is horrible and tragic. Most rational people would say that World War II was very much a just war and needed to be fought. In hindsight most sane people do not question our involvement and see it as a war that needed to be fought. It was, however, still horrible and tragic.

We can debate whether or not we should have gone into Iraq in the first place. That argument still rages. It's pretty much a mute argument at this point, however. We are there. What we did in the past we did in the past and cannot be changed. Wringing our hands over should or shouldn't is pretty much a worthless activity.

The President has made it clear that he plans to stay in Iraq. He is the Commander and Chief and can keep the troops there as long as Congress is willing to fund the war.

Congress has had, frankly, silly little debates on the war but has not shown that it has the gumption or desire to remove funding for the war so the war continues and will continue.

Sadly, debate over the war has become a cynical little game for politicians and it is dreadful. There should not be commercials promoting or attacking the war. Individual leaders who choose to run for office based in staying in or getting out are fine. They can make their positions. It is disgraceful, however, when soldiers who have fought for their country are paraded in front of a camera to speak for the war in general, either pro or con. Disgraceful.

Amidst the ads for Budweiser, dualing Levitra bathtubs, and the autumn's new TV lineup, there are no commercials exclusively about the war.

I happen to decry the over-coverage of Paris, Lindsay, and Britney and now the war has been diminished to little 30 second ads.

Disgraceful!