Take a look at the person in front of you, the person to your right, the person to your left and the person behind you. Now imagine them in a military uniform; when you stop laughing please continue reading this article. The reason I asked you to do this is because the people you are looking at are the same people that are in the U.S. military. Currently there are more than 200,000 soldiers serving overseas in combat zones. This means that nearly 40 times the number of people going to UW-Platteville started their day doing a weapons check to ensure that their rifle is fully operational. When someone talks about what is going on in Darfur and how the U.S. should be leading the way in doing something about it, it makes me wonder what critics are doing or are willing to do about it. What level of commitment do they as an individual have to stopping genocide and fighting for democracy? Are they willing to quit or postpone their college education to enlist to be out on the front lines? For those of you that would like to show your support at the lowest level please feel free to go and purchase a “We Support the Troops,” decal and place it proudly on the bumper of your auto. If you decide to voice a complaint about as to what U.S. should or should not do or complain that we are not being the leader we should be, ask yourself this question: “What am I willing to do?”

George Bauer
Building Construction Management