This Ain’t No Stinking War Blog

A vistor to this site today labeled this site an “anti-war” blog.

Because it was an off-hand remark in a comment that contained a link to an article I found quite interesting, as a well as leading to a site I’ll probably be following in the near future, I didn’t think about that term too much at first.

However, the more I thought about it, the less I liked the term. This ain’t no stinking war-blog, that’s for sure, but neither do I consider myself an anti-war blog.

If I had to put any label on this site, I would probably refer to it as a “poetry blog” because my favorite entries, and the great majority of them, focus on various poets. Because of my bias, I suppose you could also call it a “liberal” blog or even an “environmental blog” because I’ve written more articles in that vein than I have about the war with Iraq.

I originally considered calling this blog “Don’t Fence Me In” because I don’t like to be labeled. Ocassionaly in jest I will call myself a “liberal,” as an act of defiance, particularly when conservatives were using it like a liberal was a pariah. Like most people, though, I hate to be labeled.

Actually, I’m probably socially conservative being quite traditional in my personal life, but I’m politically liberal because I believe in a government that helps the poor and disadvantaged to lift themselves up.

I’m afraid, though, that it says something about our divisive times when expressing unpopular views about a vital issue of the day gets you immediately labeled.

Hopefully with the first rush of the tax season coming to an end, I will find more time to read poems and comment on them. Until then, I’m afraid I will continue to stall by expressing my opinion on various issues that interest me but don’t require a single focus, but that still doesn’t make me an anti-war blog.

11 thoughts on “This Ain’t No Stinking War Blog”

  1. I sincerely apologize for that. I’m not a warblogger either, or at least I’m trying not to be. When I posted that comment I wanted to be honest about my position but then I wanted to be sure you didn’t think the link I posted was just some pro-war argument that you wouldn’t be interested in reading and I ended up calling two blogs that are not primarly about the war at all “anti-war” blogs. Again, my apologies.

    I wrote something just last night about how the war is overshadowing everything else and dividing people who otherwise might have a lot in common. I don’t like labels either but I guess I’m mostly liberal except on the war.

  2. Hummmm… I’m on vacation and have time to read this now…I don’t know it I agree with the “pacifist”part of Shelly’s label. His advice to me as a 5-year-old child when the girl across the street kept picking on me was to “just hit her.” However, I must acknowledge that I never was encouraged to shoot anyone either.

    I”ll keep working on my label. I think “ornry” fits somewhere in there. (Dad’s always complaining that I don’t read his BLOG. He may change his tune soon.)

  3. I wasn’t really upset by your comment, Lynn, and, as I said, I appreciated the link you included.

    I’m just not willing to accept the kind of labels that are being thrown around in general.

    Shelley’s wrong, as Dawn noted, I am no pacifist. I was for sending American troops to Bosnia. I was worried about our reaction in Afghanistan, and still am, but I wasn’t opposed to hunting down Bin Laden and killing him.

    I’m just opposed to the idea that one country, and apparently only one country, has the right to invade another without “just cause.”

  4. It’s okay, Shelley, it would be a compliment to be called a “pacifist” but I’m afraid I haven’t arrrived at that state yet.

    What I don’t like is “stupid” wars that accomplish nothing and aggravate the problem, you know wars like invading Iraq.

    An “eye for an eye” seems to leave a lot of people unable to see the true consequences of their actions, doesn’t it?

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