A question has come up tonight in another thread that I would like to expand upon here instead. It seems that many of those supportive of U.S. interventionism and warfare suggest that wars such as Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq are done so to protect the freedom of American citizens. What is interesting to note is that none of these nations actually invaded the United States at any time, nor did it capture and enslave U.S. citizens. Further, no U.S. citizen has come under the threat of losing his or her freedom at the hands of an enemy since the American Revolution. Perhaps the closest another nation's army came to successfully invading the U.S. were the Axis powers in the Second World War, though it would have been quite the feat indeed and probably would have been a complete failure.

So the questions I pose are these.

1. Have you felt that you and your family's freedom was threatened by the armed forces of another nation at anytime during your life?

2. Do you believe that at anytime America's freedom was threatened by the Iraqis, Vietnamese or the Koreans?

3. Do you buy the argument that to not support the war and the troops is to not appreciate your freedom?

4. Do you feel that the only entity that has ever threatened your freedom has been your own government?

No.

Possibly the freedom to be prosperous on the long run. But not sure the reward was worth the risks and costs.

To a certain extent yes. You have to take the good with the bad.

No. Responsibilities that come with age rob me of freedoms. Family responsbilities rob me of freedoms. Not being filthy rich robs me of freedoms. In my day to day life the majority of freedoms that are robbed from me are due to lack of financial prosperity enough to quit work.

That said I can understand why wars are fought not to make a perfect world but to increase our collective financial prosperity in the long run and hopefully short term as well. Wars fought to limit the number of freedoms we currently have from being taken away.

By whom?

do you not think that some of the economic policies adopted by the government have contributed to such a hardship?

1. Have you felt that you and your family's freedom was threatened by the armed forces of another nation at anytime during your life? Only on 9-11-01. But they weren't officially armed forces of another "nation."

2. Do you believe that at anytime America's freedom was threatened by the Iraqis, Vietnamese or the Koreans? No

3. Do you buy the argument that to not support the war and the troops is to not appreciate your freedom? I separate troops from the equation, because I support them as human beings first and foremost. I understand that they don't make the big decisions, they just carry out orders. I do not buy the argument that not supporting a war should equate to a lack of appreciation for one's freedom.

4. Do you feel that the only entity that has ever threatened your freedom has been your own government? The government as a whole no. But certain entities within or rubbing elbows with the government, yes.

During the 80's it seemed very possible that the Russians were going to blow us up, but I can't say it kept me up at night. Wondering who would win in a fight He-Man or Optimus Prime did cause a few sleepless nights.



No....the only way to really screw us outside of nuclear winter would be if the oil stopped...



Support wars no, support the troops yes...



The only entities that threaten my freedom is my wife and kid. Still the fact that two people on this earth actually want to spend time with me makes that loss of freedom more than worth it...though I'd rather buy a PS3 than pay for heat.

No, I've only been alive since the decline of the Soviet Union, though. I think there could have been a whole different feeling in the 60s and earlier.


No.


No.


No. On the other end of the spectrum are people who might want to physically harm you or otherwise use their agency to affect your freedom. But I've always felt that the government doing it is worse, since I'm not legally allowed to protect myself from the government. Also, I know I have the power to lose my freedom on my own account through things such as vices and leverage and so forth.

oh, yeah. I nearly forgot about the threat of nuclear holocaust during the 80s.

1. Me personally, not really..... People felt somewhat threatened by the Soviets at one point, so when I was very young I felt like there was a threat, but I was too young to really be fearful of it.

2. No way.

3. Absolutely not.

4. On a large scale, yes.

No on all four counts, though it depends on how you're defining freedom in #4.

You are welcome to define it however you wish.