The great thing about America is people have a right to their opinion, and a free press will publish that opinion.

In response to Bill Neel’s Sept. 9 letter in which he made an accusation against Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan because he voted for action in Iraq, by that standard the accusation also applies to then-Sens. Joe Biden and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also voted to authorize President George W. Bush to use force in Iraq.

Neel’s accusation is absurd. While Neel is entitled to his opinion, he ought to be consistent in his standards.

We have the luxury of voting people out of office and not having to resort to uprisings like those in much of the rest of the world, where so many innocent lives are lost.

I served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years and currently am a high school teacher certified in government.

I need Neel to understand that the men and women of the military are the last to want war. They have the most to lose — their lives.

But when the nation’s leaders call upon them, regardless of the party, they do their duty.

Neel should look around and acknowledge that there are people around the world who hate our way of life, our freedoms, and our values. They hate us because we are Americans.

They do not make exceptions based on political party, religion, or whether one supports military action or not.

The current president owns the war in Afghanistan, and I am not going to throw a barb at him and say how many people have been killed since January 2009.

The bottom line is that all the people I mentioned above are serving their country in politics and making decisions that they believe are in the best interests of the country.

There are patriots everywhere, not in uniform, who serve their country in many capacities.

Thank God they do, so Neel and others may protest the war under their guaranteed First Amendment right.