Have the Swift Boat Vets ever asked themselves this question? Were they in Vietnam to fight against communism, and FOR democracy? If so, doesn't a democracy allow for dissent? Or, is it that these Vets cannot seem to grasp this fine point?
These vets are still torn by the actions of some returning soldiers, such as Kerry, who spoke out against the war when they came home. Yet, what Kerry did was the VERY reason we were supposed to be in Vietnam! The Swift Boat vets have never been able to resolve this issue, and sadly, they will never be able to see that by their very actions they have no understanding of a democracy.
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What this boils down to is that the Swift Boat Vets hate Kerry for what he did AFTER the war. Kerry spoke out, which is what our Democracy is all about, it is the very actions that supposedly we were trying to protect in Vietnam.
These Swift Boat Vets do not now, or then, understand what a Democracy is about. Their hatred of Kerry is, in my opinion, more about their lack of ability to ever understand the complexity of "Democracy."
Sadly, we see this all the time. In the build up to the Iraq war, and even still, dissent is labeled "anti-American." If there is NO dissent, no disagreement, what exactly does Democracy mean? Does Democracy simply become a word with no meaning? A flag to rally around, without knowing why?
The Swift Boat Vets cannot understand that their hatred for Kerry's actions after the war are misplaced. Kerry did what was expected of him in a Democracy, he spoke out against that which he saw as wrong. These Swift Boat Vets consider this a personal attack on them. They did not then, nor do they now, want to allow anyone the ability to disagree with them.
These Vets are being used and using the Vietnam war as a political tool. They are being offered up by the GOP as the attack dog, the GOP dishonors them by not standing by that which they are supporting behind the scenes. Not only is this dishonorable, these Vets have, as we see over and over, rewritten history because the truth does NOT support their political views.
These Vets have yet to learn what Democracy means, they cannot understand that our nation, our Democracy is stronger for the ability to speak out, to disagree. If they were to ask themselves why they went to Vietnam, they might begin to understand that their actions in no way support the core values of a Democracy.
Once, many years ago, these men went off to fight a war against tyranny and oppression. Today their actions and hatred against those who disagree with them more closely resemble that which they once fought against.