Friday, September 09, 2005

Chickenhawks!

How often do we hear lefties saying that because of the war in Iraq, President Bush should have his daughters enlist? Or that Republican politicians who support the war, but have never been in the military, are chickenhawks? I've even been told that my opinion about things military doesn't matter because I'm not currently serving.

Gotta love that reasoning. Via LittleGreenFootballs comes this gem. Here's a sample:

Are we still playing the "chickenhawk" game, or are we tired of that one yet? Let's keep playing for one more round, just long enough to give the purveyors of that fallacy one more chance to recognize how the ball looks in the other court.

The "chickenhawk meme" is a rhetorical stick in the spokes that has been flung at every supporter of the war to overthrow Saddam and establish a free Iraq. It's supposed to immediately shut us all up....

So let's keep playing chickenhawk; let's apply it to another situation. "Don't advocate government actions that will involve sacrifice unless you're also putting yourself directly in the place of those who may be asked to sacrifice."

Don't call for more government action to help the poor people stranded in New Orleans unless you drove down there as soon as you heard the news and personally waded through the sewage and took some of them out of the Superdome and into your home....

Don't call for a more aggressive FEMA unless you've put in a job application there. Don't call for a quicker and more effective use of U.S. military resources in the disaster zone unless you've spent the last two years encouraging healthy young men and women to enlist, and supporting the Defense Department budget. [emphasis added--Darren]

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about this...every idiot who screams about the use of fossil fuels must drive a hybrid vehicle for one year and give up their private planes before they can tell me to get rid of my pick up.

Darren said...

Or better, just let them walk.

Anonymous said...

Totally made up boogey men that you're worrying about. There are real problems in this country, and some are obsessed with monsters under the bed.

Anonymous said...

okay, i just reread the posting, because i was laughing so hard at the premise that i didn't pay attention to the supposed point of the article.

and having read the whole thing... i can't believe anyone thought that was clever or insightful or helpful in any way.

so let's review the bidding: totally made up non-issue, with a ham-fisted rejoiner. perfect recipe for blogger fodder on what must have been a slow day at the office.

Darren said...

I don't have an office. I have a classroom. It's never a slow day when 180 teenagers are concerned.

No, I just thought the article was very succinct about putting to bed a common refrain I hear from lefties. If you don't hear this refrain, steve o', good on you. Here in the People's Republic of California, I hear it quite often.

Sorry you don't approve. I thought it was rather witty.