goobs gabs

In July of this year, my son Jeremy joined the Army. He said it was something he always wanted to do. As of today, he is nearing the end of his basic training. In the long run, what ends up happening from here is anyone's guess.

It wasn't my idea that he join, and I let him know in no uncertain terms when he told me of his decision that I did not approve, to put it mildly. I also let him know that he was still my son regardless. So now I have this dilemma.

I've spent the better part of my life protesting almost everything that my son now stands for. So what do you do? Interesting enough, at times like this, sometimes your children turn out to be smarter than you think, and at least smarter than you are.

This past weekend, I visited with Jeremy at Fort Benning. We had some time to sit and talk about life, about how things have turned out, and about a few things that it turns out we didn't know about each other, even though we are and have always been close. I told him how proud I am of him, and the fact that he is doing something that has brought him a sense of pride and satisfaction. I mentioned this to him, and further mentioned that my feelings about his decision were still tempered by my complete disapproval of the way our President has handled world affairs during his term, including events in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We talked about the Republican line spouted so often by the Vice President that critcizing the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan undercuts the morale of the troops. The last thing I would want would be to undercut my son's morale should he find himself over there. Jeremy's response to this was that criticism of the President's decisions, good or bad, is one of the very things that soldiers are there for. There is nothing more American than the freedom we have to voice our dissent. By doing so, we are not undercutting the morale of the troops. We have the right to question our President's decision and motives. As Jeremy says, even if he is there, if I am exercising my right of peaceful dissent, that boosts the troops. It is not a criticism of the troops. It is a peaceful, lawful expression of dissent, the very right President Bush says he is trying to bring to the Iraqi people; therefore, in a way, it does not undercut morale. It only serves to strengthen it.

So in the end, it comes back to me full circle. He's my son. I could not be more proud of him.

And I'm scared to death.