I am a Damn Good Military Wife

It all started with a bulletin on myspace. It was a hoax article claiming that Obama not only chooses NOT to salute the flag, but that he and his wife have attended several flag burnings. It was posted by a military girl whose fiance is in Iraq with Hubby. She and her Buddy (who is also on Hubby's Team) had been posting offensive/ignorant/racist things on their myspace pages for the past couple of months. I had ignored all of these things, while regretting deeply that I had ever friended these ladies on myspace in the first place. I knew it was best for me not to say anything.. not to rock the boat. Everyone is entitled to her own opinion.. no matter how uninformed that opinion may be.

I drew the line, however, with this bulletin. It was a flat out lie. So, I posted a comment saying as such and included a link refuting this hoax. I figured that no matter which side you're on: Obama or McCain, everyone wants to be HONEST at least, don't they? Everyone wants to know the FACTS, right?

Wrong.

What I received back from my comment was an angry message with many explitives explaining that she wasn't going to look at my stupid link, and that even if "some" of the information wasn't true in the article it didn't matter because Obama has no respect for the country or the flag. And, she gave me her two cents about what she thinks of my political opinions.

I was so mad; I was shaking. Not only had she taken things to a level of complete disrespect, but she also "did not care" that she was spreading untruths about Obama.

After calming myself, I decided to take the high road. My husband has to live and work with her fiance for the next 4 months. And, while I wish I could have deleted her message and in effect deleted HER from my life, I knew it wouldn't work like that. She is going to be part of my life for the next 4 months, too. So, I wrote back and basically explained that I absolutely respect her RIGHT to have her own political opinions, but that it's important for people to base those opinions on the policies and facts.. not fantastical stories floating around the internet. I said I don't want to make enemies of her, it won't do anyone any good, and that I think the most important thing is that we support one another, not cause each other added drama.

I felt very big and mighty. I could have sunk to her level. I could have argued the points with her. But, in this case, I knew it would do absolutely NO good.

While I chose NOT to attack her obvious support for John McCain, she chose to have the last word. She wrote back saying that I can support Obama all I want, but she just needed to tell me that Obama doesn't support my husband and therefore doesn't support me. She also felt the need to tell me that SHE supports her husband, the war in Iraq, and Bush.

And, of course, after attacking me and my standing as a good military wife, she went on to say that we'll just have to agree to disagree. And then moved on to talk "happy" talk.. as though she hadn't just attacked me on a very personal/military wife level...

Because I am not really sure what to do in response to this. Because I feel attacked as a military wife. Because I do not think I could be trusted to be respectful if I were to write back to her right now. I am writing a blog. And, to anyone who reads this blog, I want to be clear about one very important thing..just so that no one is confused. I am a GOOD military wife. No, forget that. I am an INCREDIBLE military wife.

Do I support the War in Iraq? That question does not hold an easy answer for me. Do I believe that what my husband does over there is worthwhile? Yes. I believe that what he and his Team are doing is making a positive difference in the country of Iraq. Do I think that Iraq is where we should be expending the majority of our military resources? No. I don't. I believe that we need to get out of Iraq responsibly and put our military force in the place where we should have sent them from the very beginning: Afghanistan.

Do I support George Bush? Absolutely not. I believe that he has made foolish and dangerous decisions for his country and his military.

Do I support my Husband as an Officer in the Marine Corps who is currently serving his 2nd deployment to Iraq? Yes. With every last shred of who I am, I support my husband. I support him during the difficult times, military career changes, moves across the country, two deployments to Iraq. I support him by being the strength he needs here at home so that he doesn't need to worry about what's going on HERE while he's worried about what's going on THERE. I support my military. And, I support the military families by serving as a Key Volunteer - the families' contact person for the duration of the deployment.

I even support the military families who think that I am somehow less of a wife because I choose to vote Democrat.

I am a Damn good military wife. How dare anyone ever try to insinuate otherwise.