The men and women of our armed forces will remain deployed over the holidays, their separation from their families compounded by taking fire and making do without critical necessities.

Although we as a country are divided over this war, we should not be divided on the matter of supporting our troops. Supporting them does not mean giving up your right to patriotic dissent, nor does it mean falling in line behind a president or a policy with which you do not agree. What it does mean, however, is giving respect to men and women who made a commitment to put their lives on the line for this country: they should not be blamed for the job they are sent to do.

I encourage everyone this holiday season to do something for at least one of the soldiers deployed in Iraq. If you know someone personally over there, write them a letter. Ask them what they need--many soldiers are lacking for basic necessities like toothpaste, batteries, and gloves. Ask them if there are any other soldiers they know who aren't getting any mail from home.

If you don't know anyone over there, you can still help out. Through Kintera.org, you can sponsor a USO care package, and anysoldier.us has an absolutely fantastic site with the names and addresses of soldiers who've agreed to act as a conduit for distributing donated goods and packages.

If you've traveled by plane and participate in any kind of frequent flier program, you can donate your frequent flier miles so that soldiers given leave can afford to get home to their families. The Army flies them back to Germany or the States, but they must foot the bill for their own transportation home--and are usually given very little notice in which to get affordable tickets. If you have frequent flier miles to spare, you can help.

If anyone else knows of any links along these lines, feel free to pass them along in the comments.