Who are we to question whether or not the war we find ourselves engaged in is a “just” war? With September 11^th very recently past, I began to think about the sacrifice made by all the men and women to make our lives that much better. I think it is strange how we can go from being a nation united under a cause to being divided by politics.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7^th, 1941, the Republicans hated the President at the time, Franklin Roosevelt. But after FDR made his “infamous” speech, they parties united under a single cause. That cause was to protect this great nation from the onslaught of attacks by an enemy that hated us.

We weren’t bullies looking for fight. We were men and women protecting our families and loved ones from the evil that wanted to destroy us. We weren’t fighting people, we were fighting ideology. We flash forward 60 years to September 11^th, 2001.

Where were you when that first reports came back confirming terrorism? How did you feel? If you were most red-blooded Americans, you were saddened by the loss of a fellow man. But soon that sadness turned into anger. Where has that anger gone? Are we really that far removed from the grizzly aftermath that followed the worst attack in American history?

I am so sick of people saying that we are out to get oil in Iraq. Just a little side note. The same people that say that are also the same people that neglect to tell you that less than 1/7 of our oil came from the Middle East. Most comes from Argentina who is in the middle of what looks to be a nasty civil war. So why don’t we attack South America? Oh, that’s right, we aren’t out for oil.

The people that failed to tell you the whole story about where our oil comes from are also the people who are trying to block us from drilling for oil in our own backyard. We want to drill for oil in the arctic. There is more than enough oil for us to drastically drop gas prices. By the way, there are no animals that would be endangered there either.

So now that you know the truth about why we aren’t there, here is why we are. Freedom. These terrorists hate America and have vowed to do again, what they did to us three years ago, but next time on a larger scale.

We are in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect our country, not to destroy other nations. If we wanted to annihilate a whole country, we could have let them stay in anarchy after removing Saddam Hussein and his two sons. Anyone who says this is not a just war doesn’t know why we are in the Middle East in the first place. Now you know.

Now you have the knowledge you need to make a responsible decision in November. All bias aside, it is not your right; it is your duty to vote this November. If you don’t, you have no room to complain.