By: Ben Carter
A lot of hoopla surrounds a presidential visit, no matter who the president is or where he visits. The protest led by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson when President Bush visited Utah last week didn't surprise me. The veterans supporting President Bush didn't surprise me either.
I was taken aback, though, by the attitude of some of the Bush supporters. I heard one woman say that she would gladly drive anyone to the airport who didn't like U.S. policy. I heard another supporter say, from a podium, that it is impossible to support the troops without supporting the war.
His position was that if people at home don't agree with U.S. policy about the war it will affect the troops morale and resolve.
These are familiar attitudes. At the beginning of the war, supporters often vocalized them so loudly that those of us who disagreed could barely get a word in edgewise.
Over time, though, it seems like a lot of people have remembered that this country was built upon, among other ideas, the idea that citizens have a right to disagree with government policies and the responsibility to speak out when they do.
Many of the supporters gathered to celebrate the president's arrival in Utah expressed the opinion that the troops are fighting for that very right of citizens to protest. It's refreshing to hear that some veterans and war supporters know that. I think many of the troops know it, too.
I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised to hear those extreme views in support of the war. The tables have turned in recent months and the supporters have a hard time being heard amid all the dissenting voices, but they're bound to triumph every once in a while, especially in Utah.
Still, it makes me sad that there are people who have that 'love it or leave it' attitude. I think they miss the point. Dissenters speak out for the same reason supporters do. They love this country and they want the best for it. They just disagree with the supporters on what that means.
It seems to me that the 'love it or leave it' attitude is more suited to a totalitarian state than a democratic one. It denies the basic right of freedom of conscience. Unlike the citizens of many other countries, including ones with which we've fought wars, Americans can believe what they choose. Let's not get so caught up in fighting our wars that we become more like our opponents.