You know, as a soldier, and living the life of a former Infantry man and vet of OIF, I have to say that "coming home" is not serendipity, its called wits. If your smart, you'll survive, those that died because of IED's were not watching out for them, or were just preoccupied with something else, all soldiers have a class on IED's and I know that they know what to look for, how do you think i survived? I knew what to look for and did my job. So it wasnt luck that brought me home, it was brains. Also, a soldiers "role" in this country is not only to fight, but to serve the citizens. If you think our only purpose is to fight and die, then your a sick individule that needs to check in at the local mental institute. We soldiers didn't have to fight the British for freedom, we didnt have to stop the Nazi tyranny in europe. We could have just all said, "up yours, fight them yourselves." So show a little more respect than "your only use to us is to fight, die, and be expendable. If soldiers are expendable then so are civilians. I mean, who needs that burger flipper at mcdonalds, who needs the bag boy at the grocery store, who needs that factory worker building cars.

Do you believe in God? If there is righteousness and unrighteousness than where do you stand? Questions like these come to mind on this issue. If you go to church but yet are a serial rapist will you be saved. If God says not to kill and you kill will you go to hell. The measure of a mans heart can't be judged by other corrupt men. But I do believe that for some homosexual people there is hope, and so for some who have killed, and those who have done evil. But for those that are pure evil or dare not to change for the sake of enjoyment there is no hope. But I am not to judge that matter. True judgment is beyond man...

The sad thing is I've seen this sort of thing on the news a few times. I live a few towns over from someplace where anti-gay rallies seem to be held daily. "Thank God for IED's(Improvised Explosive Devices, because apparently-->)" "God hates the USA (because we have gays and-->)" "God Hates Fags (Because we, the signholders, seem to know how to talk to God and find out what he wants.)". The parentheses are my own editorial comments. Reminds me of one of the old anti-gay slogan: "AIDS. Kill fags dead."

Simply...fucking...staggering. Ignorance is everywhere.

Actually, and I was thinking, if America is such a quote unquote 'tolerant' nation, why do we not tolerate intolerance? Just a little semantic food for thought.

You know, one would think by now that this issue of homosexuality in this country would be long dead. Then again, I'm speaking about a country that - recently - had to put people on trial for dragging a colored man to death.

I digresss.

I could take the cynical route and say that no one should mourn soldiers. They signed up, many of them of their own free will for exactly this purpose - To fight and die for their country. It's their purpose. It's their role. A soldier's life is, by definition, expendible. It's only serendipity that a few survive a conflict and "live to fight another day."

If a gay man or lesbian wants to pick up a gun and join in the wholesale slaughter of a country, I say, let him/her. Hell, why not have the Transgendered go after them, too? Personally, it makes no difference to me what someone does in bed, if they're that 'patriotic' to go and start killing people.

I don't personally support this 'war.' I never did. But what I do support is "wholesale slaughter." *smirk* Let them go. Let them kill.

After all, curiously, I don't see any of these protesters signing up to fight 'for God in Iraq.'