http://people.bakersfield.com User Posts on http://people.bakersfield.com en-us http://people.bakersfield.com/home/ViewPost/26955 <p>I try not to think about the war in Iraq.&nbsp; I have a nephew&nbsp;in Iraq&nbsp;now.&nbsp; This is his second deployment.&nbsp; I had hoped the war&nbsp;would end before he had to go back.&nbsp; Obviously it didn't, and if history repeats itself, probably won't for several&nbsp;years.&nbsp;&nbsp;People are tired of the&nbsp;politics between the President and Congress.&nbsp; People are tired of their children dying.&nbsp; I realize the death counts are lower than Vietnam, but if your kid is there, it isn't a matter how many lives have been lost.&nbsp; It's the knowledge that your child is there and could be the next victim of a roadside bomb or suicide bomber or friendly fire.&nbsp; You want your child safe and you want them home in America.&nbsp; I was&nbsp;a little girl when Vietnam started, and became a young woman before it ended.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was in the&nbsp;4th grade,&nbsp; when a former neighbor and family friend was killed in action in Vietnam.&nbsp; I remember the long&nbsp;drive to Boron High School where we attended the&nbsp;funeral for Gene Ross.&nbsp; After that, the war became more personal to&nbsp;me.I worried about it more than my parents or&nbsp;teachers thought.&nbsp; I would see war footage on the news, or pictures of children bleeding and bandaged in the Life magazines.&nbsp; I&nbsp;had bad dreams that the Vietnamese came to the United States and were hunting us.&nbsp; I wonder if our school age children have the same fears regarding Iraq.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I was in 7th grade, Jane Fonda started&nbsp;speaking out against the war, everyone hated her.&nbsp; Draft dodgers&nbsp;headed to Canada.&nbsp; Mohammed Ali refused to fight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Americas voice raged for a few more years then finally the&nbsp;President heard.&nbsp;&nbsp; Once he made up his mind, it didn't take long to bring our troops home.&nbsp; Hopefully our next&nbsp;President will listen with an open mind and trusting heart to what America wants.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;End this war and&nbsp;bring our children home.&nbsp; I love America.&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>