"The world is upside down, and one brave first lieutenant tries to set it right. The U.S. war in Iraq is illegal and immoral, says 1st Lt. Ehren Watada. In thus choosing reality over fallacy, and refusing to deploy to Iraq with his Stryker brigade, the 28-year-old Honolulu native faces six years in the brig when his court-martial begins next month at Ft. Lewis near Seattle.
"Meanwhile, another soldier was in the news the other night, holding his baby daughter on his arm while being interviewed on local TV about going to Iraq. He shrugged and said, “Sure, I hate to leave my wife and my daughter. But what can you do? Gotta go.”
"Gotta go? There’s nothing brave about a passive surrender to fate. This soldier is fighting because he “gotta.” Lt. Watada, in comparison, is fighting for the right to be an exemplary human being, someone brave enough to stand for truth instead of easy and blind acquiescence. He’s a patriot who believes in free speech and his right to criticize the war. Now that’s worth fighting for.
"Lt. Watada made his choice. In this war or any war, every soldier needs to make a choice, one way or the other, about going to fight. When an individual fails to make a choice concerning a major decision, but instead lets that choice be made for him, he’s not assuming enough responsibility for the outcome.
"Those of us in the antiwar movement respect the difficult position that soldiers are in. We ask them to make the best choice they know how. It’s good to do honor to your country, and it is just as noble to do honor to yourself.
From Buzzflash
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