What does it really mean to “support the troops”?

The imperative phrase is proclaimed on millions of bumper stickers: “Support the Troops.”

Tell me what it means to “support the troops” and then I’ll tell you whether I support the troops.  Fair enough?  Until you can tell me what the phrase means, asking me whether I “support the troops” is like asking me to sign a blank check.  I don’t sign blank checks.

Support the troops

The vague phrase “Support the troops” is a challenge that is not only found on bumper stickers these days.  For instance, Bill Arkin of the Washington Post recently wrote about soldiers who are increasingly expressing frustration with the growing opposition to the war back home.  Many of the soldiers took it personally.  Arkin quotes Staff Sergeant Manuel Sahagun:

One thing I don’t like is when people back home say they support all troops, but they don’t support the war.  If they’re going to support us, support us all the way.

Arkin goes so far as to characterize the volunteer troops as “mercenaries,” suggesting that we’d be having an entirely different national discussion if we had a draft.  Arkin’s “mercenary” comment quickly caused a firestorm.  Overnight, his blog drew more than 900 comments. Arkin also drew the ire of conservatives from coast to coast.  Did he fail to “support the troops”?

“Support the troops” is a hopelessly vague phrase; it means different things to different people.  For instance, when I am asked whether I support the troops, it could mean any of the following things:

1. Do …

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Haldane’s four stages of acceptance

Whether the topic is Iraq, religion, discrimination, or even the scientific theory of evolution, you can likely find a use for John B. S. Haldane's description of the four stages of acceptance of ideas:       i)    this is worthless nonsense;       ii)   this is an interesting, but perverse, point of…

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Addicted to forgiveness?

Ebonmuse has raised an intriguing point at his site, Daylight Atheism.  He suggests that unrealistic expectations promulgated by many churches throw many people into disorienting existential spirals.  Instead of acknowledging the limitations of human animals up front, many church-goers (with the encouragement of their religious leaders), conceive of their journeys through life…

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Walk a mile in my over-muscled cramp-prone freakish physique

I don’t know anything about bodybuilding, or I didn’t until I watched Raising the Bar 2, a brand-new documentary by Mike Pulcinella (Mike wrote it, shot and edited it).  Mike often submits comments to this site, and we have corresponded by e-mail a number of times.  A couple weeks ago, Mike asked me whether I’d be interested in watching his new documentary, and I jumped at the chance.  Based upon Mike’s many comments to this site, I know him to be a thoughtful guy. I knew that he must’ve found something worthy of his time in this freakish-seeming endeavor of “bodybuilding.” 

In this documentary, Mike follows his brother Dave Pulcinella (and Dave’s significant other, Jenn Emig) as Dave trains for and competes in high-level bodybuilding competitions.  Before you jump to the conclusion that this is just some guy following his brother around with the camera, take a look at the trailer for “Raising the Bar 2,” available at Mike’s site. As you will see, Mike is a skilled filmmaker and storyteller and he is careful to make sure that this story retains real-life texture.  Mike’s edits are crisp and the soundtrack works well.  As for the storytelling, this kind of video could only have been accomplished by a filmmaker who had gained the complete trust of the participants.  In sum, this documentary is not always a glowing endorsement of Dave.

The documentary was compelling on several levels.  First of all, viewers will have an opportunity to see what is …

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