[Vision2020] anysoldier.com

[Joan Opyr]

I won't bother to address the outrage of RV Cowboy's equating 
opposition to the war in Iraq with being "happy" when U. S. soldiers 
are killed.  Chasuk has already dealt with this, and his comments are 
right on target.  No need to muddy the waters with a slam of my own.  
Instead, I'd like to direct Visionaries' attention to the following 
website:  http://www.anysoldier.com.  At Any Soldier, you can donate 
care packages to service members in Iraq.  Perhaps some of you know a 
service member; you can address your package to him or her.  Or, like 
me, you can pick any soldier, any Marine, any sailor, or any Coast 
Guard member and mail that unknown person a care package.  From cookies 
to calling cards, from entertainment packages to personal hygiene 
products, you can send someone overseas something to show that you 
really do give a damn.  Just as opposition to the war is not the same 
as opposing those who serve, support for U. S. soldiers is not support 
for the war.

FYI, you can also just write any soldier a letter.  Not everyone 
serving in Iraq has family with whom to correspond.  Even if your "any 
soldier" does, can you get too many letters when you're frightened to 
death and far from home?  The soldiers I know have said that getting a 
letter when serving in hostile territory can help get you through the 
day.  Help someone get through his or her day.  Help someone feel less 
alone.  That magnetic yellow ribbon on the back of your car is a 
political statement.  A letter or a care package is one human being 
reaching out to another.

Apart from putting in a quick plug for Doctors Without Borders, I'll 
leave it to others to identify charities that are helping the people of 
Iraq and Afghanistan.  I believe in doing that, too.  Directing our 
generosity and kindness toward the people of those countries is, I 
think, a moral and ethical responsibility.  If you can't see that, then 
consider this less-than-altruistic observation: the life you save may 
be your own.  Our standing in the world is at an all-time low.  We 
might try sowing a bit of international goodwill for our own selfish 
sakes.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com
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