I’m regretting something I did before I went into the city today. This morning my dad forwarded me something a friend had forwarded to him, an email with the subject line “THIS OUGHT TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING.”

My parents are both really conservative, like, Fox News on during dinner time, Rush Limbaugh in the car conservatives. I normally ignore them when they talk about who’s ruining America, or how I’ll become a Republican once I “start making some money.” My dad also just retired as a colonel in the Air Force.

The email contains sections like:

> When some claim that President Bush shouldn’t have started this war, tell
> them the following :
>
> FDR (DEMOCRAT) led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us; Japan
> did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost … an average of 112,500 per
> year.
>
> Truman (DEMOCRAT) finished that war and started one in Korea . North Korea
> never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost … an average
> of 18,334 per year.
>
> John F. Kennedy (DEMOCRAT) started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam
> never attacked us.
>
> Johnson (DEMOCRAT) turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000
> lives were lost … an average of 5,800 per year.

As if I, a naive Democrat, would go OMG but I HATEZ WARS? HOW DID I MISS THIS? I don’t hate wars. There are some wars I actually love. I owned a season pass to Colonial Williamsburg, I participated in a Civil War reinactment (for the north). I feel okay with some wars. I don’t care much for unjustified wars, no matter who started them, though. And, trust, if I could be against the Vietnam war right now, I would be, except I can’t be, because I think it’s over (I can’t tell because I’ve been watching the RNC).

What was the kicker to the email?

> In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two
> countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in
> Libya, Iran, and, North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a
> terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. And the Democrats are
> complaining about how long the war is taking.
>

There’s so much wrong with all of this email, so I sent back quotes with links (oddly, this email didn’t contain any links to articles, papers, studies). There was so much and I needed to get working, so I put a terse “I would be happy to look up the rest for you when I get back // Best, Jessica” end to it. I sent it back to my dad, plus the other guy he forwarded this to, plus the person who forwarded it to him. I think I recognize that person’s last name, they’re a nice family whose kids I used to hang out with. I haven’t gotten an answer from anyone yet. And I hate to start arguments with my family. So I don’t know if this means “okay fine” (doubtful) or “we hate you right now.”

What I don’t get is, what am I supposed to get here? All wars are bad? All wars are good? All wars that Democrats started are bad? That we shouldn’t have gotten involved in WWII? Or the Cold War? Democrats start wars too so it’s okay to start wars? Maybe it is saying that John McCain was serving his country in an unjustified war, which kind makes his service sad right?

Wait, one more quote from the email b/c it’s so amazing:

> It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno (DEMOCRAT) to take
> the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

So, so much to say.