Pro-peace, Pro-troops, Anti-military

I often find it amusing when there is a pro-peace rally on one corner, and on the other corner is a "Support the troops" rally. When this happens, it is usually accompanied by quite a few stink eyes, a rude remark or two, and a general air of tension. Having once stood with "Veterans for Peace" the Eureka, CA chapter, in their protest (held every friday, at the courthouse, for 1 hour) of the war, it's hard for me to understand how one can't see that the ultimate support of the troops is to be pro-peace. Peace, brings them home, and peace keeps them alive. Allow me to elaborate:

I do not support the military; however, I DO support the individuals who make up our troops. To the individual brothers and sisters currently serving: I am sorry. I am sorry for what you have had to endure, participate in and see. I can never begin to imagine what atrocities you have been exposed to. I am sorry that it's happening not to protect us, but for the most soulless of all reasons: Greed. Not your own, but that of a corrupt government. I am sorry said government values you so little. I love you, I want you home ready to do the very thing you signed up for: Protect us and our freedoms. I thank you for going, so that I would not have to. I, again, am sorry that your true sacrifices aren't addressed; for in that, help could be administered, as I'm sure a lot of you are hurting. I'm sorry that when the financial times at home get tough, the government wants to cut your pay while they put your lives in danger. I'm sorry to your families that never know if they will see you again. I'm sorry our government is a piece of shit. I love you, and I want you home.

However, I cannot and will not stand behind a “war on terror” that is being carried out very similarly to the “War on all non-Christians” from the crusades through Columbus. In which Europe engaged in the “justified” genocide, slavery, and rape of numerous indigenous peoples and claimed those lands as their own. They said it was to “spread the word;” however, we can look back and see the true motivations were actually greed and power. Today, we claim the “terrorists” are 1. nations of crazies that need to be controlled....compared to “heathens and infidels” of 1492 2. Are suffering under the oppression of a cruel and unjust dictatorship, and we must bring to them democracy...compared to uncivilized savages living without Christianity, and we must bring God to them. I am far too Native to support the very thing that wiped out whole tribes of my ancestors.

I am sorry, but please know if I say something negative towards the military, it is directed at that, never to the soldiers. Much like my tree hugging, environmental ways are directed towards corporations and congress with an urge to find a better alternative; not towards loggers/mill workers, but that is another rant.