2003 Soap Box Archives

To Our Troops 03/21/03

I know that a lot of you in the military have computers with you where
you are serving because I get so much e-mail from you, and I thank you
for it.

I wanted to tell you that the people of the U.S.A. are greatly in your
debt.
You are on a noble mission and I know that you see things in the media
from time to time which make you wonder just how solid your support in
our nation is.

Well let me tell you something, I travel this nation from coast to coast
and border to border regularly. This year I will probably play for
around a million people. I talk to an awful lot of them in the course
of a year and I tell you honestly that support for our armed services in
this country is strong and pervasive.

Well, you may ask, how about the people who are demonstrating against us
in the streets of American cities.

If you could go to those demonstrations and walk among the people there
you would be surprised to know that, especially in the large cities,
there are people there who represent the communist party, the anti-world
monetary fund bunch, radical women's groups and just anybody else on the
fringe of American politics with an ax to grind.

Also this is actually more of a political protest than anti-war
protest. This is actually for the most part a protest against your
Commander in Chief. They just don’t like anything about George Bush and
just can’t accept the fact that Al Gore didn’t win the election.

If you notice the signs they carry none of them mention Saddam
or that they support the military but don’t like the war. No they’re
about what an idiot the President is and compare him with people like
Adolph Hitler.

Now that’s about the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard. Think about
this, did they get out in the street and demonstrate against Bill
Clinton when he started shooting off cruise missiles?

Did they criticize him for the military actions he started?

The mission you are on is not only necessary, it is urgent.
The anti-war demonstrators will tell you that they’re worried about
collateral damage, but I guarantee you that when this is over the world
will have to admit that Saddam Hussein has killed a hundred times more
of his people intentionally than your forces ever will unintentionally.
You see that’s what I can’t understand about these people.

Does it matter to them that five thousand children a month starve to
death in Iraq? Or that Saddam has people shredded in plastic shredders
like a piece of thrown away paper or that he has little children
tortured by his goons, or that he has men’s wives raped in their
presence, or that he has ruined the economy of a country which could be
modern and prosperous, or that him and his chosen few live in royal
luxury while the people of Iraq starve?

They say, well it hasn’t been proven to me that he has weapons of mass
destruction.

Well just hang on y'all. The day is fast approaching when you will see
the evidence that Saddam does have weapons of mass destruction, and I
just hope that you’ll have the decency to thank the men and women in
uniform who kept them from being used on you.

Thank you troops. You do America proud.

What do you think?

God Bless America.

Charlie Daniels