Dear Carl

I will try to show a bit of restraint here.

I'm tired of the bullshit.

We will set aside the fact that you believe in communism. Let's just address the bulk of you in sweeping generalizations, since that seems to be the only way in which you see those of us who believe in Democracy. Fair is fair, right?

You came here asking how the people of Iraq could possibly be free and you wanted examples. As I expected, all you offered as your proof that they are not was an opinion piece written by someone from the Anti-War and International Action Center. A very biased source if ever I saw one.

Again, I'm tired of the bullshit.

Since September 11, 2001, you and the many groups with whom you associate have contended that George Bush and the Republican party were behind the attacks on American citizens on American soil. It was either that or the evil empire that capitalism built that brought the attention of the terrorists unto us.

I've listened as you and many other protesters insist that people around the world hate us because we are a nation built on dreams of a better life, of Liberty, of determining our own fate as long as we act within the guidelines that we call laws.

Time after time, I have listened as protesters claimed that everything this country stands for is wrong. I've listened and read how our ideals are flawed. I've driven past people holding upside down American flags painted with swastikas and signs claiming that we are little more than murderers.

I'm tired of the bullshit.

You and the other protesters claim to be interested in the basic needs of people around the world. Yet, I have seen you do little more than stand around yelling angry slogans. I have seen no one reaching out a helping hand.

Over a year ago, I became involved with an organization called Spirit of America. It's a non-partisan group of individuals interested in helping those in need. Specifically the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. People who have lived in fear, under brutal regimes, terrified to utter a single word of dissent against those who led their countries into poverty and despair. Through Spirit of America, I was able to help those people. We sent school and medical supplies. We raised money to help them build water treatment facilities, homes, education centers, hospitals, businesses, and the basic infrastructures for their cities so that they might live in places where they could access whatever they required to lead better lives.

Where were you? Where were the people who dress up in costumes and burn flags? Where were the hands that could have helped lift up the oppressed and guide them safely to their destinies - whatever they may be? Where?

I'll tell you where you were.

You were standing on the streets here in the good ol' United States of America. Safe from firing squads that the people in Afghanistan and Iraq would have had to face should they attempt the same.

You'll still be standing there next week, next month, next year. Because you refuse to accept reality.

And meanwhile, my friends and I were working to send REAL PEOPLE REAL MATERIALS to improve their existence. We came together to do good and to bring hope.

I also became involved with Protest Warrior as a means of providing a voice to all of my fellow countrymen and women who felt that they dare not speak out because they didn't want to face your taunts or threats. I wasn't afraid to speak out and I'm not afraid to speak out now. In America, all voices have the right engage in free speech. You and your friends claim that we are attempting to deny you your right to speak, but that's so very far from true. We're simply taking the opportunity to offer another perspective because, frankly, we've spent the last three years listening to the same stale complaints from protesters.

I am so very tired of the bullshit, Carl.

As I read through the opinion piece that you posted in my comments, I wasn't surprised by anything contained therein. I've heard it before and I know I'll hear it again. You have offered nothing new. I hear from you, verbatim, whatever it is that International A.N.S.W.E.R. or the International Action Center has deemed to be their official statement. You follow their script to the letter. You blindly mouth whatever they tell you, selfishly focused on your own agenda, doing nothing to actually help anyone. Heaven forbid you should see an ounce of good in anything.

From you and the other protesters, we get nothing but complaints and negativity. I have seen no effort on your part to do anything more than stand angrily and sneer at those who have actively sought to bring about change in the world.

Freedom was made possible in Afghanistan and Iraq by those willing to think beyond themselves. We may not be perfect in our attempts, but at least we're doing something. From the men and women in our military who give their time and their lives, to those of us who work here, on the home front, we're DOING - actively, physically, doing - something to ensure that others might know the sweet taste of hope and Liberty. We don't merely give lip service to our beliefs, we act on them.

Instead of sowing the seeds of discontent, we sow the seeds of freedom. We're willing to work to improve the lives of others. And where are you? Still on the corner with your mean-spirited signs and your angry faces. We seek to unite, you seek to bring division.

Sorry, but I'd much rather look at the smiling, happy, and hopeful faces of those who are waking up to freedom.

None of these groups you rally with want to see anything positive coming from the Middle East. No matter what happens, you will pick at the fiber of the happiness of the Afghanis and Iraqis, because it doesn't fit your agenda.

We who believe in Democracy are not so noble that we don't see the loss and the anguish that comes before the joy. We just happen to accept that change often comes from deep sorrow. We know that the innocent lives of those murdered by tyrants and despots can never be brought back to life by the casting of ballots. We know that the blood of our fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters sent to foreign lands is red and real. And yet, they were willing to go. So we accepted their decisions. We chose to accept their selfless sacrifices were worth the dream of eventual peace and Liberty. To claim anything less is to dishonor their spirits and to deny their families the legacy of true heroes.

Call me brainwashed and mindless. You've done it before. But you know what? At least I don't speak the same words that everyone else I know is speaking. I don't walk around with a scowl fixed to my face 24/7. I can smile, knowing that my actions have brought joy and hope to the lives of many. I can hold my head high, knowing that Iraq (and Afghanistan) is rising, like a phoenix, from the ashes of tyranny to the golden promise of Liberty.

I look forward to the day when you can think beyond yourself and your agenda, Carl. I just won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

When I first started dating my soon-to-be wife, she would note frequently how I was a pessimist - always finding and noting the crappy things in life. She urged me to start thinking positively, if not for my own mental health then to spare her the same crappy attitude. And I started changing my thinking.

Now I tend to try to find the positive aspects of stuff happening; I think it really changed after 9/11 when there was that period of about a month afterwards when it seemed that with the exception of those dancing Palestinians that most people were 'depressed' about what had happened (and with good reason too).

At least, that's the way it was for me - I felt guilty when I popped a Poison tape into my truck's radio and blasted it cause I needed a change from listening to news radio constantly.

And my 'positive' thinking is still in play today - especially with the change in life that happened last November when I had to start doing hemodialysis.

A lot of my friends and coworkers almost always say the same thing: Oh man....that sucks!! (or words to that effect) when they hear about my condition. And I always tell them this: there are two ways to deal with this - positively or negatively cause no matter how I react to this change in life, it's still gonna be there and I'll have to contend with it anyway.

So instead of being depressed about how life has screwed me over...., I look at the brighter side of it:

• Instead of saying whoa is me, I say Hey - I get a handicap parking permit!!
  
• Instead of saying aww man - I have to go to dialysis three times a week!, I say Hey - I get a scheduled nap!

This is what Joanie is trying to tell this Barking Moonbat (at least it's what I get from this) - lighten up and try to find the postive aspects of this and every other 'tragedy' in life. Not to ignore it like a mindless automaton, but to take the good with the bad and make the best of it.

While I cannot speak to whether this troll really needs it, I know that if you constantly are pissy about everything in life that you're gonna be miserable all the time. And life is too short to be moody throughout it.