"Stop-Loss" A Bust: What a Surprise
Current mood: blissful
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

If you haven’t guessed yet, I am a conservative, a Republican, and a supporter of the president. This does not mean I agree with everything that is Republican or every decision our president has made. But I tend to believe the man has made the best decisions based on the information at hand at the time in regard to the War on Terror and Tax Cuts. I also believe that the Iraqi conflict is one front of the War on Terror. But before we get too sidetracked, let me just swing us back toward the topic of this blog...

I understand we don’t all agree about the current war. I accept that and I respect my fellow Americans who disagree with our war policy since 2001. But may I remind us all that there likely has NEVER been a conflict our nation has taken on that has gotten 100% approval from the American people? Even our own Revolutionary War met with it’s own share of entrenched resistance. And during the age of television and movies, the conflicts we have had during this time have had an equally divided response. We all have agreed that we "support our troops" whether the conflict has been World War II or Iraqi Freedom. And we have had vigorous debates and discussions (and maybe even some fistfights) about the way war was being conducted. Even in the arts we have found this so. Movies and television shows have come along over the years that have been equally supportive and critical of the whole concept of war. But when it was World War II... there may have been some critical works, but there were many, many others that praised our brave military people and showed them in a positive manner. This could also be said of shows based on the Korean and Vietnam experiences. Much has been critical, but always something positive on occasion.

What about this time around? We’ve been in conflict now for 7 years, 5 in Iraq. How many movies have been produced? Specials? TV shows? Name 1 (just 1) that has been overall positive toward what is happening in Iraq today? You can’t, can you? And what has been the fate of these "works of art?" They have each been flops at the box office... including the latest, "Stop-Loss".  I am not as surprised as the so-called experts. They don’t seem to understand that this one-beat samba was worn out on the ears of the American public long ago. And I think that because they own the networks and the microphones and the shading of the polls they produce, they think that there’s is the only point of view, that which thinks our president is both an idiot and a diabolical mastermind, that Al Quaida was in every corner of the planet EXCEPT Iraq before our entry there, etc. They think it, so they assume this is what everybody in the country thinks. They are against the war, so everyone is against the war. Have they stopped to think that if this was so, Congress would have already successfully pulled us out of there? If this was truly the sentiment of the American people, we would have already flown the white flag of surrender and tucked tail and run out of there. But it clearly is not. How do I know? Once again I point at the box office, where the people of America voted once again with their feet that they are sick and tired of seeing our troops put down, our cause demeaned, and nothing ever positive about the nation they love. Perhaps it’s time Hollywood listened? But when’s the last time that happened?