"It's obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself into two camps -- the wimps and the
warriors," Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., said. "The ones who want to argue and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our enemies and kill them before they kill us." (March 30, 2004,
according to the AP).

Wimps and warriors?

I have a question for Senator Miller: how many of his relatives are in the U.S. military? Or, for that
matter, for the President or Mr. Cheney or Ms. Rice or anyone else in the current administration: are your children in the military? Exactly what can this war cost you, personally?

My eldest son is a Navy Reservist. He is not active -- yet. Many other mothers and fathers in the United
States have sons and daughters who are on active duty. I cannot imagine what they go through each time they hear that another car bomb has gone off in Baghdad.

Our all-volunteer U.S. military is made up primarily of two groups of people, with a great deal of overlap
between the two groups. Some of them are men and women who have chosen to serve our country as a career, or for a time, out of conviction: they want to keep America free and strong. Some joined
because it was their best economic option. Either way, they have chosen to restrict their own freedom in
order to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy.

The least we can do for those who choose to serve in our military is to hold their lives dear. This mother
wants to ask Senator Miller, who's the wimp? Where is your child, your grandchild?

A warrior is not someone who sends other people, and other people's children, off to die for a pack of
lies. A warrior is not a fool who sets off on a fool's errand. A warrior is not someone who plays dress-up for photo ops. A warrior is someone who actually fights.

Pardon me, Senator, but in my book, you and your friends are wimps. You are worse than playground
bullies: you send other people to take your risks.

I am the proud mother of a man who has chosen to serve America. Every time I listen to the news, I ache for the other mothers who dread the news. Every time I listen to the news, I wonder how these
self-proclaimed "warriors" can look at themselves in the mirror. Every time I listen to the news, I ache
for America.