Ted Rall Cartoon Depicts American Soldier as a Suicide Bomber NewsBusters.org:
There are a number of problems with this cartoon.
1) While the majority of suicide bombers are male, it is not unusual for womyn to carry out these acts as well.
2) Is the cartoonist suggesting that there isn't anything that you should be willing to die for, your family, your country, or the ideas of freedom and democracy?
3) To suggest that all of our troops believe in god is just absurd, while I have to admit that I don't know how many of them do or don't, statistical theory would suggest that it should be close to the average for society. Not all Americans believe in God, I see no reason to believe that all of our troops believe in god.
4) Again this is a gross generalisation about the troops and what motivates them to fight. The cartoonist starts from the idea that he doesn't believe in the cause in Iraq, From there he concludes that no one could believe in the cause, and thus the troops must be fighting to avenge 9/11.
5) Respecting the president because he is the president is no more blind than hating the president because he is the president.
6) You only have to look to the recent attacks in the UK to see that poverty is not a universal trait in suicide bombers. Studies done by Israel have shown that the majority of the bombers that attack them do not come from poor families.
7) Lots of cultures believe in an afterlife, is it silly to lump them all together in the manner that the cartoonist has done.
8) The cartoonist is of course suggesting that the lives of our soldiers have been wasted, and that they have died for no reason. I strongly question his credentials for making such a statement.
There are clear differences between our soldiers and the enemy we face in Iraq, and around the world.
1) Yes, American soldiers are willing to die for a cause, but the cause that our soldiers fight and die for is freedom and democracy, and we should be thankful that they do. The cause that the terrorists fight and die for is control, and submission to their model of society.
2) There are strong differences in the gods that modern Christians (note I am talking about modern Christians), and the god that the terrorists believe in. Terrorists believe in a god that orders the death of all those who oppose you. Modern Christians believe in a god that asks you to love those that oppose you.
3) While it is true that Christians, among other faiths believe in an afterlife, again the nature of that afterlife is very different than that of the terrorists. In the Christian afterlife, a soul will face judgement for the sins that it has committed, and it is believed that a Christian god has mercy on those who take shelter in him. The god of the terrorists rewards the death of a warrior, and rewards him for killing others. When you look at modern beliefs, Islam is alone in this belief that in killing your opponents you secure for yourself a place in heaven.
4) It could be said that America does not give its soldiers the respect that they deserve. However, the terrorists strap bombs to their followers, and send them out to die for the cause, their lives are meaningless except as a way to further their own goals. The lives of American soldiers are sacrificed, and respected far more than that, we do not leave men in the theater of combat to die alone if we can save them. We do not send them unarmed and unprotected into the middle of an ambush that they can only die in.
"Ted Rall has created some truly offensive cartoons and articles during his
career. However, this might be one of the most disgraceful statements made by a
media representative since this war began "
There are a number of problems with this cartoon.
1) While the majority of suicide bombers are male, it is not unusual for womyn to carry out these acts as well.
2) Is the cartoonist suggesting that there isn't anything that you should be willing to die for, your family, your country, or the ideas of freedom and democracy?
3) To suggest that all of our troops believe in god is just absurd, while I have to admit that I don't know how many of them do or don't, statistical theory would suggest that it should be close to the average for society. Not all Americans believe in God, I see no reason to believe that all of our troops believe in god.
4) Again this is a gross generalisation about the troops and what motivates them to fight. The cartoonist starts from the idea that he doesn't believe in the cause in Iraq, From there he concludes that no one could believe in the cause, and thus the troops must be fighting to avenge 9/11.
5) Respecting the president because he is the president is no more blind than hating the president because he is the president.
6) You only have to look to the recent attacks in the UK to see that poverty is not a universal trait in suicide bombers. Studies done by Israel have shown that the majority of the bombers that attack them do not come from poor families.
7) Lots of cultures believe in an afterlife, is it silly to lump them all together in the manner that the cartoonist has done.
8) The cartoonist is of course suggesting that the lives of our soldiers have been wasted, and that they have died for no reason. I strongly question his credentials for making such a statement.
There are clear differences between our soldiers and the enemy we face in Iraq, and around the world.
1) Yes, American soldiers are willing to die for a cause, but the cause that our soldiers fight and die for is freedom and democracy, and we should be thankful that they do. The cause that the terrorists fight and die for is control, and submission to their model of society.
2) There are strong differences in the gods that modern Christians (note I am talking about modern Christians), and the god that the terrorists believe in. Terrorists believe in a god that orders the death of all those who oppose you. Modern Christians believe in a god that asks you to love those that oppose you.
3) While it is true that Christians, among other faiths believe in an afterlife, again the nature of that afterlife is very different than that of the terrorists. In the Christian afterlife, a soul will face judgement for the sins that it has committed, and it is believed that a Christian god has mercy on those who take shelter in him. The god of the terrorists rewards the death of a warrior, and rewards him for killing others. When you look at modern beliefs, Islam is alone in this belief that in killing your opponents you secure for yourself a place in heaven.
4) It could be said that America does not give its soldiers the respect that they deserve. However, the terrorists strap bombs to their followers, and send them out to die for the cause, their lives are meaningless except as a way to further their own goals. The lives of American soldiers are sacrificed, and respected far more than that, we do not leave men in the theater of combat to die alone if we can save them. We do not send them unarmed and unprotected into the middle of an ambush that they can only die in.
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