THE TRUE BELIEVERS
Several days ago, I saw a link on the Drudge Report about a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who was marching in a 4th of July parade on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. According to the story,

Jason Gilson of East Bremerton, who as a Marine corporal was wounded in Nasiriyah early in the Iraq conflict and is now in the inactive Ready Reserve, marched in Bainbridge's July 4th parade holding a sign that said "Veterans for Bush."

While marching in the parade, Gilson was met with booing by members of the crowd, and was reportedly called a "murderer" and a "baby killer".

I was angered when I read this report, but unsurprised. I considered posting about the incident on my blog, but decided against it after reading many excellent posts by other bloggers out there. Since they already said what was on my mind (minus the profanity that keeps popping up in my head when I think about this), I saw no reason to say what has already been said so eloquently.

As I gave this story more thought, the thing that I have found most disturbing about this is how unsurpirising it was to me. Why should it seem like business as usual when people behave in such a mean spirited and hurtful fashion. These people probably don't know Jason Gilson. I'm sure they have no idea what he did, or didn't do while serving in Iraq. Their actions betray their real beliefs: anyone who serves in this war is a criminal.

I have blogged before about how anti-war protestors often make it a point to "support the troops". This incident goes beyond mere hypocrisy, though. Some of these people made it a point to hurt Gilson personally. Why would such "compassionate" people be so mean.

First of all, Gilson supports President Bush. Service members are seen by the left as victims of the President's "evil plans". Since Gilson refused to play the victim, he therefore forfeited the "support" of those on the extreme left.

The second reason I came up with was based on something I have been reading recently. It's not an article, a blog, or even a book on the current best seller list. I found this bit of wisdom in a fifty year old book by a man named Eric Hoffer. Hoffer was a self educated longshoreman who became a respected political philosopher. He published a number of books. The most famous of these, The True Believer, is where I found my answer.

Hoffer's book examined mass movements and the people who are drawn to them. According to Hoffer, mass movements fill a void in some people that they are unable to fill themselves. Affiliating themselves with The Movement gives meaning to the lives of such people. They feel that they are important because they are a part of something important. For many people, this doesn't present much of a problem. For others, their dedication to The Movement takes on fanatical undertones. Their political beliefs become more than a mere point of view. These beliefs become a sort of dogma. Questioning the belief system of the fanatical is met with the same reaction one would expect from a religious zealot whose faith had been attacked.

This brings us to Jason Gilson. The people who attacked Gilson probably don't know him. All they know is that Gilson, the non-victim service member, represents an attack on their belief system. A wounded veteran who supports the man who should be held accountable for his injury (President Bush) is a living contradiction to their faith. Gilson is a threat to The Movement, and The Movement gives meaning to the lives of the faithful. Consequently, Gilson is evil. Evil deserves no mercy. So they lashed out at him the only way that spineless cowards (left wing pacifists) know how to, they engaged in name calling. It's revolting behavior, but not surprising. It appears that the left is waging its own Jihad against "infidels".