Troops the Words 'Support Our Troops' Are Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 610 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 2

Troops

The words 'support our troops' are frequently said as a matter of routine, according to Roger Stahl's article entitled "Why We Support the Troops." The phrase has been used by supporters of American armed conflicts on the right to covertly suggest that they, and not the war's opponents, are 'for' the young men and women risking their lives to serve America abroad. Members of the left in recent years have likewise adopted the phrase to suggest that they support the troops, even if they do not support the war. Yet Stahl says that "such rhetoric ultimately works to foreclose debate rather than encourage its citizens and representatives to engage directly the reasons for killing, whether they are right or wrong, legal or illegal, effective or ineffective" (Stahl 535) [CENTRAL ARGUMENT]. It reduces the debate about war to a matter of who 'supports the troops' the most, rather than the real reasons that killing is going on abroad.

Stuck Writing Your "Troops the Words 'Support Our Troops' Are" Essay?

View All Our Example Troops the Words 'Support Our Troops' Are Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written



As evidence for his thesis, Stahl notes that the phrase 'support our troops' was originally popularized during the Vietnam War by the Johnson Administration, to encourage support for the individual men fighting and deflect public attention from an unpopular war. Focus was placed upon getting POWs home rather than ending the war together by the executive branch. Eventually this ideology progressed to the development of what Stahl calls the "anti-war, pro-soldier" film in which war is shown to be ugly, but individual soldiers are shown to be noble (Stahl 539). The fact that such films as Saving Private Ryan garnered the support of the Pentagon shows the subversively, subtly anti-intellectual message of nobility hidden between the lines of these works. It encourages identification with the soldier, as do the 'yellow ribbon' campaigns of support, which deflects criticism against the government who had the role in….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Troops The Words 'Support Our Troops' Are" (2012, April 21) Retrieved June 5, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/troops-words-upport-troops-112528

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Troops The Words 'Support Our Troops' Are" 21 April 2012. Web.5 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/troops-words-upport-troops-112528>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Troops The Words 'Support Our Troops' Are", 21 April 2012, Accessed.5 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/troops-words-upport-troops-112528
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example