Stand up, quit sitting on the fence, and take a stand; decide for yourself

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On the heels of General Petraeus’ address to Congress and the ever-present debate of whether or not we should be in Iraq, a lot of Americans are left wondering, now more than ever, What exactly is our government’s objective in Iraq?

Today, throughout the world, our government sees it as their responsibility, and god-given calling, to uphold everything that they deem "right," and to force those beliefs on people throughout the world. Many opposed to this so-called "tyranny," saying that it is all too reminiscent of Manifest Destiny, a way of thinking that was so prevalent in the mid-1800s.

Starting in about 1845, the U.S. government thought it was their duty to expand "from sea to shining sea," as the potential national anthem, "America the Beautiful" states. Of course, this manifest destiny was the explanation, or maybe justification is a better word, for clearing natives from their lands.

There seem to be a lot of similarities in the U.S. government of 1845 and that of today. This administration wants us to believe that this war is merely a war to remove tyrants from power and fight the terrorists of the world, but do they have other goals?

While suspicions of a conspiracy theory that President Bush and his band of idiots are actually trying to establish our country’s name in the nations of the Middle East, just as their 19th century counterparts did, may be supported only by nebulous facts, there have been innumerable statements of ideology which indicate that is exactly what they are doing.

There is no denying that democracy is great-it gives us all the opportunity to speak our minds, but that does not mean that it is the best and only way for all nations. Removing oppressive tyrannies that deny humans their unalienable rights from power is more than okay, but did we not accomplish that in 2003 and four years later we are still there? Is it not time to mind our own business and pull our troops out?

Many have said that an immediate and complete removal of our troops would be disastrous not only for the Iraqis but also for the United States, and this may very well be true, but beginning immediately to phase out our troops presence in the area should be something that all, not only the brave men and women fighting in the war and their families, should want to see. Everyday we are bombarded from all sides with the news of casualties in the war that are adding up by the hour, and for many Americans, this has become morally exhausting. And for what? We need to ask ourselves: Do we support the decisions of our government? Wherever our allegiances lie, we should be taking a firm stance. Quit sitting on the fence. We are in college to expand our horizons and take our knowledge to new levels; so do so, and take a stand.