It is common knowledge that the United States currently has military troops overseas as a result of September Eleventh. In his blog, "Let's Talk Politics", Isaias Homeyer idolizes American soldiers posted overseas and presents the often overlooked point of view that our soldiers are not only serving our country and out people, but aiding the government in the countries of occupation.
Isaias begins his arguments with statistics, but it is unclear where these statistics were these statistics came from. I think he could have provided for a better argument had he provided backbone with his facts. Even though there are no links or references as to where he got his knowledge, he definitely provided a very confident tone to his writing. I found that even lacking supporting documentation to his facts, I felt like I could believe what he said.
Isaias seems very knowledgeable regarding the overseas military involvement. Though I had a bit of problem determining his opinion on the subject matter, the post was informative. There was no obvious argument and I would have liked to see more of his opinion laid out openly. However, the tone of his post leads me to believe that he is sticking up for the soldiers.
One sentence in particular stuck out to me. " Until our troops are completely withdrawn, they will continue to service the people in Iraq so there may be peace in their future." The wording of this statement makes the cause seem so selfless.
One of my older brothers served two tours, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. During a mission on his second tour, his unit was attacked and many of the vehicles were bombed, including his. He survived and after a couple weeks was back in the United States receiving medical treatment. Just yesterday he was found "unfit" to serve in the military any longer and within the next month will no longer be able to serve his country. I bring up this story because I know he made the choice to be a soldier, but as a younger sister, I blamed the other country for what happened to him. The sentence I mentioned above made me feel a little more humble. I think it was very touching and brought up a piece of me that helped me remember how lucky I am.
America is insanely blessed just with the fact that our country in general is relatively peaceful. We have many freedoms that other countries do not have and we do not have to worry about surviving the next day. We are a very spoiled nation and I am thankful for that. My brother was participating in a program teaching people about their local agriculture and helping them learn how to better their living. He was helping them, not fighting them.
Even though Isaias's argument did not provide much support for the facts he used, I could tell that he is sympathetic to the soldiers and the innocent people being dragged into the war. America is not the only victim, and he did a good job of using pathos to appeal to the readers emotion, presenting the idea in a way that slightly victimizes Iraqi civilians and makes the reader feel that American occupation is a little bit more acceptable.
