Reverend Don Timmerman Is Soooo Wrong

by Kerry Thomas

May 11, 2008

Reverend Don Timmerman of Park Falls doesn’t have the faintest idea of what it means to serve our country.

Reverend Timmerman has obviously never read the preamble of the United States Constitution, 40% of which speaks directly about providing for the common defense of our nation and of securing the blessings of liberty, for not only ourselves but future generations, as well.

Reverend Timmerman’s May 2 Lakeland Times letter to the editor is so outrageous and misguided that it’s hard to figure out just where to begin.

For the record, I fully support Reverend Timmerman’s right to express his thoughts. I just completely disagree with them.

He claims 50 conservative talk show hosts “are telling our young that to be a true American they should join the military.” (Are there even 50 conservative talk show hosts?) I’ve never heard any talk show host say that anyone has to join the military in order to be a true American.

What I have heard is blathering idiots like Reverend Timmerman telling people that it’s un-American and un-patriotic to join the military.

It’s ironic that the people Reverend Timmerman is so eager to demonize are the very people who guarantee his right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and every other freedom he enjoys as an American.

Reverend Timmerman goes on and on about “illegal and immoral” acts by our military. Do I really need o go back through the 17 United Nations resolutions on Iraq? Do I really need to go back through the whole legal timeline of the current War in Iraq? (If you need a reminder, read my Iraq War: A Legal Timeline.)

Do I really need to remind Reverend Timmerman that, on October 16, 2002, Congress authorized the President “to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate” in order to “defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq” and “enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.”

Reverend Timmerman writes that Alan Greenspan claims “that the invasion (of Iraq) was done for the sake of oil.” Reverend Timmerman obviously doesn’t realize that Alan Greenspan had nothing to do with the planning or execution of the war. The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war (which they did in the October 16, 2002 resolution). The President, as Commander-In-Chief, is authorized to prosecute that war as he sees fit. An ex-federal reserve chairman has ZERO power to declare or wage war.

There is nothing illegal or immoral about serving in the armed forced of the United States. (Two of the most devoutly religious men I have ever known served proudly, in combat, when they were young men, in the U.S. Army during World War II.) Military training instills a sense of pride, a sense of confidence, knowing that the defense of our nation is in the hands of well-trained and extremely capable people. Contrary to liberal beliefs, the men and women of our armed forces are actually, as a group, more intelligent than the average population.

Reverend Timmerman cites a passage from the Talmud: "A hero is one who makes one's enemy a friend." Reverend Timmerman then writes “A hero does not kill.”

I would ask Reverend Timmerman how he would go about turning an Islamic terrorist into his friend. This terrorist believes that any infidel (that means You, Reverend Timmerman, and any other American who does not practice the same form of extreme Islam that this terrorist practices) must be killed. And he’s willing to die in the process, too.

So how would you go about it, Reverend Timmerman?

The terrorist wants you dead. He doesn’t want to talk to you about your politics, about your religion, or about your peaceful protests. He wants you dead. If you won’t convert to his form of religious fanaticism, he wants you dead.

Given such a scenario, is sending this extremist Islamic terrorist to meet Allah in person, in self-defense of yourself, or your family, of your neighbors, of your fellow countrymen, a crime?

Or would Reverend Timmerman maintain that a hero does not kill?

Would Reverend Timmerman say that our World War II veterans, our Korean War veterans, our Viet Nam War veterans, our Gulf War veterans, and all of the men and women who served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States are not heroes?

Since Reverend Timmerman thinks so much of the Talmud, does Reverend Timmerman think Israel’s military personnel are also guilty of the “illegal and immoral” actions he ascribes to American military personnel? Or are his charges reserved solely for American armed forces?

Reverend Timmerman is so concerned about young Americans volunteering to serve their country. Does Reverend Timmerman realize all Israeli citizens (even those living in the United States) are obligated to register with the IDF (Israel Defense Force) for mandatory military service?

And for Reverend Timmerman’s benefit, supporting the troops means realizing that these men and women follow orders. Whether or not you agree with any military action, you support and appreciate the sacrifices our military personnel endure.

You support their families. You honor their sacrifices. You help them just as you would help any of your fellow neighbors in need.

You don’t spit on them when they come home. You don’t call them baby killers. You don’t mischaracterize their service. You don’t compare their service to robbing a bank or committing murder.

And you don’t make broad assertions about military personnel “killing, torturing and making life miserable for the Iraqi people.”