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Army veteran: Change in attitude, empathy taught me being anti-war is patriotic Opinion
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/01/11/change-party-discourse-taught-me-being-anti-war-patriotic-opinion/4430531002/
David Weissman, Guest columnistPublished 4:00 p.m. ET Jan. 11, 2020
I can surely say that the new year of 2020 started out with a bang. The United States president gave the order to bomb terrorist camps near the Baghdad airport in Iraq. A terrorist was assassinated, and not just any terrorist but terrorist Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Forces.
Soleimani is best described as the most connected military mind in the Middle East. No other person had the clout, the respect, the power Soleimani did. Some even described him as “Iran’s irreplaceable man.” The Quds are a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that support non-state actors, extraterritorial groups, and focus on unconventional warfare. It’s safe to say, his death and our actions will cause major repercussions throughout the region and the world for years to come.
Palm Bay resident David Weissman, pictured in Kandahar during one of two deployments to Afghanistan, was born in New York and served in the U.S. Army for 13 years. (Photo: For FLORIDA TODAY)
When I was a conservative, I was often angry at Democrats for not pushing harder on the war on terror. For those who are familiar with my story, I was a conservative Trump supporter who turned into a liberal Democrat after finding out truth about President Trump and the conservative movement. I learned to have empathy for others. I learned the benefits of having a respectful discourse. I’ve learned through this process that you not only attain empathy thinking about people other than yourself, you acquire logic and reasoning skills.
One eye-opening moment for me as I was learning to empathize with others is when I understood liberals’ concern for bombs from air strikes dropping on civilians. Do terrorists deserve to die? Of course, but there needs to be a more effective way of killing known terrorists while not also killing innocent civilians who just happen to be in the crossfire. When we begin to dehumanize people for being different, especially civilians in combat zones, we have to ask tough questions like, does that make us different from the terrorist we are trying to kill?
</snip>
David Weissman, Guest columnistPublished 4:00 p.m. ET Jan. 11, 2020
I can surely say that the new year of 2020 started out with a bang. The United States president gave the order to bomb terrorist camps near the Baghdad airport in Iraq. A terrorist was assassinated, and not just any terrorist but terrorist Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Forces.
Soleimani is best described as the most connected military mind in the Middle East. No other person had the clout, the respect, the power Soleimani did. Some even described him as “Iran’s irreplaceable man.” The Quds are a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that support non-state actors, extraterritorial groups, and focus on unconventional warfare. It’s safe to say, his death and our actions will cause major repercussions throughout the region and the world for years to come.
Palm Bay resident David Weissman, pictured in Kandahar during one of two deployments to Afghanistan, was born in New York and served in the U.S. Army for 13 years. (Photo: For FLORIDA TODAY)
When I was a conservative, I was often angry at Democrats for not pushing harder on the war on terror. For those who are familiar with my story, I was a conservative Trump supporter who turned into a liberal Democrat after finding out truth about President Trump and the conservative movement. I learned to have empathy for others. I learned the benefits of having a respectful discourse. I’ve learned through this process that you not only attain empathy thinking about people other than yourself, you acquire logic and reasoning skills.
One eye-opening moment for me as I was learning to empathize with others is when I understood liberals’ concern for bombs from air strikes dropping on civilians. Do terrorists deserve to die? Of course, but there needs to be a more effective way of killing known terrorists while not also killing innocent civilians who just happen to be in the crossfire. When we begin to dehumanize people for being different, especially civilians in combat zones, we have to ask tough questions like, does that make us different from the terrorist we are trying to kill?
</snip>
Good read. I know of David from twitter. He seems to be genuine.
1 replies
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