Showing posts with label stupid shit people say. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stupid shit people say. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2014
The Dream of America
Every time someone says "I'm not interested in politics", "I don't waste my time voting", or something else to that effect, I am reminded of the Iraqi elections. Displeased that they were losing the absolute power they had enjoyed under Saddam (and I'm simplifying, of course; this is a blog, not a dissertation), the Sunnis boycotted the elections - only to discover that doing so effectively silenced what voice they might have had in their own government.
If you claim to be disinterested in politics and are proud to be unaware of what goes on in the government, you are an irresponsible wastrel upon whose shoulders rest the burden of guilt just as surely as on those who commit those crimes against the Constitutional ideals. You are what has empowered these corrupt politicians. You are what has permitted them to remain in power. You are their accomplice, their willing cohort, their meek servitor.
You are the problem.
America was not founded to be a nation of uneducated serfs who vote by blind allegiance. The idea - the dream of America works only if the voters are educated, intelligent, and above all critical of their elected officials. The Republic is the most precarious of governments because it requires not that the bureaucrats be diligent nor that the rulers be wise, but that the people - the common folk on the street - be both diligent and wise, for they are their own rulers and the bureaucrats work (much as they may wish to deny it) for them. The responsibility for the regulation and maintenance of the government lies on the collective shoulders of the common man. This is not a novel concept, nor is it a particularly difficult one. Ben Franklin remarked on the precariousness of the Republic and responsibility that lay on the individual citizen very nearly as soon as the Constitution was drawn up with his answer of "A Republic, if you can keep it." This was understood on Day One.
Why have you forgotten? Is the eternal vigilance demanded of free men too hard? Are the obstacles too great to overcome? Are the difficulties in setting right what has gone wrong insurmountable? Is there a price too great for the dream of America - for the land of opportunity, for that nation dedicated to the principles that all are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Martial Law and Dumbass Democrats
So, I saw an article which had a video clip wherein Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas, of "Is the Mars rover near where the astronauts planted the flag?" fame, and proof that they breed 'em extra-stupid in Texas) calls for martial law to end this present governmental shutdown.
Okay.
For a one, the previous governmental shutdown threatened by the Democrats in 2011? Well, I'm sure that's plenty fine for them to do it. Apparently, though, if the Republicans do it then it's the end of the world and a massive crisis of unparalleled proportions.
Do you, out of curiosity, know why the government's been shut down? I'm sure you've seen the version that the left is quite eager to push on the American people through our unbiased and completely, totally honest mainstream media. The version wherein the Republican party has filibustered the government into shutting down rather than pass a bill funding the Affordable Care Act (which used to be known as Obamacare until the media realized pretty much everyone hated it)? Alright. That version's partially true. You see, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill containing language that defunds and delays the ACA for another year and removes exemptions from Congresscritters. This budget bill is thoroughly unpalatable to Harry Reid and his Democrats, who apparently don't think they should attempt to follow the will of the people or have the same laws as apply to us peasants apply to them. The Democrat-controlled Senate and the White House squashed that bill, and then were amazed when the Republicans filibustered the bill that funded Obamacare (and the rest of the government). John Boehner and the Republicans have introduced a series of bills which essentially funded the government in piecemeal. The Democrats rejected these out of hand, because apparently nothing is better than something.
This includes funding the national park system. The Democrats - for the first time in American history - have shut down every national park in our country, including businesses and private property on them. I say "Democrats" because Obama is a Democrat - and it ain't the left you hear griping about this tyrannical pettiness. Much has been made of this, and I'm sure I could make a blog post in and of itself over the whole thing. I'll spare you that this time.
Oh, and the Democrats have been claiming that the ACA is the law of the land and that we shouldn't try to change that.
So is the Second Amendment. That hasn't even slowed them down.
Just remember that, though, next time the elections come up. The Republicans shut down the government to spare you massive increases in your cost of living, and then tried to offer compromises to bring back up the more popular programs of the government. The Democrats, in tyranny unprecedented, refused the compromises and demanded that it be all or nothing while doing everything in their power to deprive the American people of our parks, our resources, our rights.
Rep. Lee, I don't think you understand what martial law entails. The American military is sworn to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Unlike you, we take that oath very, very seriously. The American military is overwhelmingly conservative and libertarian, viciously protective of American rights and intimately familiar with just how terribly the American government mismanages practically everything - especially health-care.
Call for martial law. I'm sure it will end very well for you.
Okay.
For a one, the previous governmental shutdown threatened by the Democrats in 2011? Well, I'm sure that's plenty fine for them to do it. Apparently, though, if the Republicans do it then it's the end of the world and a massive crisis of unparalleled proportions.
Do you, out of curiosity, know why the government's been shut down? I'm sure you've seen the version that the left is quite eager to push on the American people through our unbiased and completely, totally honest mainstream media. The version wherein the Republican party has filibustered the government into shutting down rather than pass a bill funding the Affordable Care Act (which used to be known as Obamacare until the media realized pretty much everyone hated it)? Alright. That version's partially true. You see, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill containing language that defunds and delays the ACA for another year and removes exemptions from Congresscritters. This budget bill is thoroughly unpalatable to Harry Reid and his Democrats, who apparently don't think they should attempt to follow the will of the people or have the same laws as apply to us peasants apply to them. The Democrat-controlled Senate and the White House squashed that bill, and then were amazed when the Republicans filibustered the bill that funded Obamacare (and the rest of the government). John Boehner and the Republicans have introduced a series of bills which essentially funded the government in piecemeal. The Democrats rejected these out of hand, because apparently nothing is better than something.
This includes funding the national park system. The Democrats - for the first time in American history - have shut down every national park in our country, including businesses and private property on them. I say "Democrats" because Obama is a Democrat - and it ain't the left you hear griping about this tyrannical pettiness. Much has been made of this, and I'm sure I could make a blog post in and of itself over the whole thing. I'll spare you that this time.
Oh, and the Democrats have been claiming that the ACA is the law of the land and that we shouldn't try to change that.
So is the Second Amendment. That hasn't even slowed them down.
Just remember that, though, next time the elections come up. The Republicans shut down the government to spare you massive increases in your cost of living, and then tried to offer compromises to bring back up the more popular programs of the government. The Democrats, in tyranny unprecedented, refused the compromises and demanded that it be all or nothing while doing everything in their power to deprive the American people of our parks, our resources, our rights.
Rep. Lee, I don't think you understand what martial law entails. The American military is sworn to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Unlike you, we take that oath very, very seriously. The American military is overwhelmingly conservative and libertarian, viciously protective of American rights and intimately familiar with just how terribly the American government mismanages practically everything - especially health-care.
Call for martial law. I'm sure it will end very well for you.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Godwin's Law
I ran across a right proper douchecanoe in the Youtube comments. I introduced it to certain facts, the way reality works. It said I *must* be an enlisted man, because no officer could be so stupid - in between spouting off such venom that I'm pretty sure it woulda ended in a fistfight if we were within arm's reach. Don'tcha just love the GIFT (that's Great Internet Fuckwad Theory for you non-nerds)? It means we get these keyboard commandos who dehumanize their opposition to a frightening extreme. Some of these Western leftists are worse in their venom than the jihadists.
Here's my take on it: "Oh, look, Nazi Germany 2.0." No shit really. Violent thugs who unthinkingly follow the commands of a collectivist leader, run in a cult of personality, demonizing all opposition, that's how Hitler got to power. Thankfully, we don't have any politicians who are as bad as Hitler... yet. If we did, though, you're kidding yourself if you don't think it could happen here. It won't be the political right, either. They value the individual too much, they usually have absolute morals, and they think of the Constitution as a fundamentally sound document that doesn't need rewritten. No, it will be the leftists, the collectivists (again), who've spent so much time and energy demonizing and dehumanizing their political opposition that an American-style Kristalnacht is just a good speech away. They do not believe in absolute right and wrong - they think that right and wrong are points of view, dependent on the situation. They do not value the individual, whatever they may claim, and instead view people only as demographics. They do not believe in the founding principles of the Constitution, those being the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, believing instead in the right to do what they please, so long as it offends none, the right to healthcare, the right to be taken care of, the right to surrender themselves and their protection to the State! Everything I see them doing is moving towards the end of destroying traditional American culture and creating a collectivist utopia in its stead. A nightmarish utopia, where minorities reign above the white males for crimes committed before my birth, where the citizen does not have the right to his own property, much less the right to defend himself, where the group matters more than the individuals, where the mob tears apart those who dissent in a vicious frenzy of political correctness.
If you find yourself getting violently pissed off about politics, either start taking some happy pills or suck-start a firearm. I mean that. We're all better off without you. You're a chock-block. You're an impediment to progress.
Here's my take on it: "Oh, look, Nazi Germany 2.0." No shit really. Violent thugs who unthinkingly follow the commands of a collectivist leader, run in a cult of personality, demonizing all opposition, that's how Hitler got to power. Thankfully, we don't have any politicians who are as bad as Hitler... yet. If we did, though, you're kidding yourself if you don't think it could happen here. It won't be the political right, either. They value the individual too much, they usually have absolute morals, and they think of the Constitution as a fundamentally sound document that doesn't need rewritten. No, it will be the leftists, the collectivists (again), who've spent so much time and energy demonizing and dehumanizing their political opposition that an American-style Kristalnacht is just a good speech away. They do not believe in absolute right and wrong - they think that right and wrong are points of view, dependent on the situation. They do not value the individual, whatever they may claim, and instead view people only as demographics. They do not believe in the founding principles of the Constitution, those being the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, believing instead in the right to do what they please, so long as it offends none, the right to healthcare, the right to be taken care of, the right to surrender themselves and their protection to the State! Everything I see them doing is moving towards the end of destroying traditional American culture and creating a collectivist utopia in its stead. A nightmarish utopia, where minorities reign above the white males for crimes committed before my birth, where the citizen does not have the right to his own property, much less the right to defend himself, where the group matters more than the individuals, where the mob tears apart those who dissent in a vicious frenzy of political correctness.
If you find yourself getting violently pissed off about politics, either start taking some happy pills or suck-start a firearm. I mean that. We're all better off without you. You're a chock-block. You're an impediment to progress.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Me, Shitbag?
It's funny how one incident can give a commander a completely wrong picture about someone. I was kinda-sorta-but-not-really related to the incident, but TRADOC being TRADOC I got dragged along for the ride. It basically meant that me - a specialist, an E-4, a junior enlisted soldier - had to sit there and try not to pay too much attention to the captain chewing out the sergeant. The captain thought it proper that the sergeant have a battle-buddy, and I don't outrank the captain.
But I thought it was pretty darn disrespectful to the sergeant, so I apologized to him for that as soon as we were clear.
Details aren't terribly important, it was one of those "What were you thinking?" type things. Because it wasn't me being the dimwit and instead someone I respect the hell out of, I won't relate 'em. The captain came away from this little meeting thinking of this sergeant as a lying self-centered bastard. That's the opposite of true. SGT Suhr's one of those sergeants who looks after his joes and tells us the God's honest truth. If he told me the sun was set to rise at 2359 tonight, I'd know it was 'cause he was damn sure the sun was set to rise at 2359 tonight. Apparently I'm disloyal, too, 'cause I didn't immediately leap to be present for my superior's dressing-down. Like I said, it's funny wrong an impression of someone you can get if you only know them from one interaction.
Also, you ever notice how you think of all the right things to say immediately after the door's closed, precisely the moment they stop being useful things to think of?
But I thought it was pretty darn disrespectful to the sergeant, so I apologized to him for that as soon as we were clear.
Details aren't terribly important, it was one of those "What were you thinking?" type things. Because it wasn't me being the dimwit and instead someone I respect the hell out of, I won't relate 'em. The captain came away from this little meeting thinking of this sergeant as a lying self-centered bastard. That's the opposite of true. SGT Suhr's one of those sergeants who looks after his joes and tells us the God's honest truth. If he told me the sun was set to rise at 2359 tonight, I'd know it was 'cause he was damn sure the sun was set to rise at 2359 tonight. Apparently I'm disloyal, too, 'cause I didn't immediately leap to be present for my superior's dressing-down. Like I said, it's funny wrong an impression of someone you can get if you only know them from one interaction.
Also, you ever notice how you think of all the right things to say immediately after the door's closed, precisely the moment they stop being useful things to think of?
Monday, December 6, 2010
Assange, Manning, and why some secrets need to be kept
I saw the quoted text in the comments on another blog. My response ran long, so I'm posting it here.
"BTW, I wonder how many patriots who are currently clamoring for Wikileak's demise, would act if their actions hurt a traditional US enemy?"
To be blunt? If Assange had taken action against the MME, the North Koreans, the Iranians, the Russians, pretty much anyone we really don't get along with and will probably find ourselves in conflict against? I'd think he was a sleezeball, but at least he's our sleezeball. I find the 'crusading for truth' journalists obnoxious at best. Some things simply are best kept quiet until they can do little harm. Some things need to be out in the open. Characters like Assange rarely know the difference.
You can't draw a moral equivalency between our enemies and us (certain presidential administrations and... hell, pretty much everything in DC notwithstanding).
But then, I'm an active duty soldier. Journalists are pretty much my natural enemy, even moreso than the ones who shoot at me.
Assange, I don't harbor so much ill will against. Charge him with espionage and put him in prison. Let him write a book, make a ton of money off of it. If we can prove someone's been killed because of what he did, then by all means get him with manslaughter or second-degree murder. I don't expect him to be able to see the consequences of his actions, being that he's not military. I hold him in contempt, as he's a trussed-up little puke who thinks he's something special. I do *not* want him assassinated. We are *not* a nation of vigilantes, we are a nation of laws. He should face trial for his actions, not be declared a terrorist and gunned down. If we do that, we prove him right.
So yes, I disagree with those internet commandos lusting for Assange's blood. We were once a principled nation. Doing the right thing, the just thing, with this person will be a sign that there's something of that left.
Bradley Manning, on the other hand, is guilty of treason. The firing squad for that one. I fail to see how my coldblooded desire to see him executed for crimes not against the government, but against his fellow soldiers, separates me from 'true patriots'. The man decided that he would betray us after we entrusted him with access to a great many 'national secrets'. While they didn't show the "True face of the evil American Empire" like some have crowed (rather, they tend to affirm that we - the military, that is - are who we say we are), it's the principal of the thing. I, like Manning, am a young soldier in military intelligence with a Secret clearance. I'm a drone operator, and have seen things and will see things that the public need never know about. Like Manning, I disagree with a number of the government's policies and actions. I do not find myself overwhelmingly compelled to release a flood of classified Secret documents that do little to harm the Federal government and pose a potential risk to our allies both on the state and personal levels. Assange claims he is going through the documents to make sure that nobody's put at risk - I don't trust him, and with some of the docs I've seen rightfully so. He is not a friend of liberty, and he's no friend of justice. Neither of them. If I am able to refrain from producing such a flood of classified information, then so should Manning.
The only thing Manning accomplished with this leak was giving the government an excuse to generate more layers of secrecy and to hide things more. The government cannot be trusted with the ability to hide its actions from the people even more. It's simply human nature to abuse such power. Sometimes the government does things that need to see the light of day. People like Assange and Manning need to exercise discretion, to release those things to the public without airing out all the sundry little details of day-to-day life in the diplomatic corps, or giving out sensitive information about our TTPs and interactions with the locals. If they don't... well, the results speak for themselves, don't they?
"BTW, I wonder how many patriots who are currently clamoring for Wikileak's demise, would act if their actions hurt a traditional US enemy?"
To be blunt? If Assange had taken action against the MME, the North Koreans, the Iranians, the Russians, pretty much anyone we really don't get along with and will probably find ourselves in conflict against? I'd think he was a sleezeball, but at least he's our sleezeball. I find the 'crusading for truth' journalists obnoxious at best. Some things simply are best kept quiet until they can do little harm. Some things need to be out in the open. Characters like Assange rarely know the difference.
You can't draw a moral equivalency between our enemies and us (certain presidential administrations and... hell, pretty much everything in DC notwithstanding).
But then, I'm an active duty soldier. Journalists are pretty much my natural enemy, even moreso than the ones who shoot at me.
Assange, I don't harbor so much ill will against. Charge him with espionage and put him in prison. Let him write a book, make a ton of money off of it. If we can prove someone's been killed because of what he did, then by all means get him with manslaughter or second-degree murder. I don't expect him to be able to see the consequences of his actions, being that he's not military. I hold him in contempt, as he's a trussed-up little puke who thinks he's something special. I do *not* want him assassinated. We are *not* a nation of vigilantes, we are a nation of laws. He should face trial for his actions, not be declared a terrorist and gunned down. If we do that, we prove him right.
So yes, I disagree with those internet commandos lusting for Assange's blood. We were once a principled nation. Doing the right thing, the just thing, with this person will be a sign that there's something of that left.
Bradley Manning, on the other hand, is guilty of treason. The firing squad for that one. I fail to see how my coldblooded desire to see him executed for crimes not against the government, but against his fellow soldiers, separates me from 'true patriots'. The man decided that he would betray us after we entrusted him with access to a great many 'national secrets'. While they didn't show the "True face of the evil American Empire" like some have crowed (rather, they tend to affirm that we - the military, that is - are who we say we are), it's the principal of the thing. I, like Manning, am a young soldier in military intelligence with a Secret clearance. I'm a drone operator, and have seen things and will see things that the public need never know about. Like Manning, I disagree with a number of the government's policies and actions. I do not find myself overwhelmingly compelled to release a flood of classified Secret documents that do little to harm the Federal government and pose a potential risk to our allies both on the state and personal levels. Assange claims he is going through the documents to make sure that nobody's put at risk - I don't trust him, and with some of the docs I've seen rightfully so. He is not a friend of liberty, and he's no friend of justice. Neither of them. If I am able to refrain from producing such a flood of classified information, then so should Manning.
The only thing Manning accomplished with this leak was giving the government an excuse to generate more layers of secrecy and to hide things more. The government cannot be trusted with the ability to hide its actions from the people even more. It's simply human nature to abuse such power. Sometimes the government does things that need to see the light of day. People like Assange and Manning need to exercise discretion, to release those things to the public without airing out all the sundry little details of day-to-day life in the diplomatic corps, or giving out sensitive information about our TTPs and interactions with the locals. If they don't... well, the results speak for themselves, don't they?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Ant and the Auto Worker
Turns out a bunch of people in Indianapolis, IN voted themselves out of a job recently. Yeah, good going UAW. This is why democracy sucks: People cannot be trusted once they figure out they can vote themselves a pay raise. In this case, they refused to take a 50% pay cut to keep their jobs (they were getting paid close to $30 an hour). Four hundred and fifty-six people said that they would much rather continue at their pay for the next year or so than take less pay and continue to have jobs for a lot longer, and keep a plant open that would continue to employ other people.
What the hell is wrong here? Who in their right mind would think "They wouldn't shut the plant down, they have to keep it open!" Oh, right, everyone who thought the bailout bill was a great idea. Too big to fail, right? I mean, it's not like we're in a recession or anything.
What the hell is wrong here? Who in their right mind would think "They wouldn't shut the plant down, they have to keep it open!" Oh, right, everyone who thought the bailout bill was a great idea. Too big to fail, right? I mean, it's not like we're in a recession or anything.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Generation Me
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html
I found that link on Dennis Prager's site, and made the mistake of following it. What the holy heavenly fuck, are these people that demented? Best friends are unhealthy?
Reminds me of how my father used to say that they were child psychologists only because they were too honest to be pet therapists. Looks like a few more parents need to clue in to the con-job. Dennis Prager's got some good ideas in his head, if ya ask me.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/11/i-don-t.html
This girl gets the facts, and then draws the entirely *wrong* conclusion from them. No small surprise considering it comes from Newsweek.
I see these two things being related. Kids these days don't seem to value anything other than their own damn selves.
Some random post on a comment thread that I thought illustrated the situation quite nicely.
I call bullshit. There's a whole lot of quit in kids these days. A whole hell of a lot. I work with some of the finest men this generation has had to offer, and I remain unimpressed. Someone tried arguing that this equipped kids for the world they're inheriting. I instead say that if the world we inherit remains, that if civilization survives, it will *not* be because of the majority of this generation. Spoiled, self-entitled, headstrong, and delusional punks do not have it in them to weather the islamofacist, econazi, collectivist storm that's intensifying as we speak. Hardy my left nut. We're the generation that passes up work and lives off of our parents rent-free. We're the generation trained by our parents. We're the generation that, if things continue unchecked, will see the end of American-brand capitalism and the end of the Republic as we knew it. Any questions?
I found that link on Dennis Prager's site, and made the mistake of following it. What the holy heavenly fuck, are these people that demented? Best friends are unhealthy?
Reminds me of how my father used to say that they were child psychologists only because they were too honest to be pet therapists. Looks like a few more parents need to clue in to the con-job. Dennis Prager's got some good ideas in his head, if ya ask me.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/11/i-don-t.html
This girl gets the facts, and then draws the entirely *wrong* conclusion from them. No small surprise considering it comes from Newsweek.
I see these two things being related. Kids these days don't seem to value anything other than their own damn selves.
"Yes! This is my generation! We are self-entitled! All of us think we were truly destined to be great! And our moms and dads definitely help us out financially more than either child or parent would like. But we are also headstrong. We dream big. We don't give up. We embrace new technology. We hope. We don't say "no." We're EXCITED to live. We want to travel the world, see new cultures, break down barriers and change this world. And maybe it's just me being a product of this generation, but I know we will. So to answer the question: we're both hardy with just a hint of delusion (which trust me, comes in handy in this day in age).
-adrienne"
Some random post on a comment thread that I thought illustrated the situation quite nicely.
I call bullshit. There's a whole lot of quit in kids these days. A whole hell of a lot. I work with some of the finest men this generation has had to offer, and I remain unimpressed. Someone tried arguing that this equipped kids for the world they're inheriting. I instead say that if the world we inherit remains, that if civilization survives, it will *not* be because of the majority of this generation. Spoiled, self-entitled, headstrong, and delusional punks do not have it in them to weather the islamofacist, econazi, collectivist storm that's intensifying as we speak. Hardy my left nut. We're the generation that passes up work and lives off of our parents rent-free. We're the generation trained by our parents. We're the generation that, if things continue unchecked, will see the end of American-brand capitalism and the end of the Republic as we knew it. Any questions?
Best Friends are Unhealthy... In Crazy Land
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html
Seriously?
Seriously?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Support our Students?
A few days back I saw someone on a forum asking why the nineteen-year-old in Afghanistan was more worthy of support than the nineteen-year-old in university. As the forum was one of the many where political and religious debate are discouraged, the topic was quickly shut down after my, ah, response. Let's call him Jack. Jack is from the UK, so there's some cultural differences. As a more moderate type explained to me in private messages after I went after Jack with both barrels, Europe lacks a lot of the "Military Worship" that the US has. He said it's only recently become socially unacceptable to spit on men in uniform.
I think you can imagine my reaction. "Ungrateful pissants" was only the start. I think that might provide fodder for another post, but not today.
I'll go more into my reasoning here, and I'll pull experiences off my own life. I was, as matter of fact, a nineteen-year-old in college and a twenty-year-old in Iraq. I had my twenty-first birthday in a guard tower. The sons of bitches on duty with me, having found out my birthdate from my section chief, sang "Happy Birthday" over the radio. Bastards. I digress.
Let's imagine, if you will, two paths a life may have taken. Picture a nineteen-year-old male, fresh out of high school. We'll call him Tim. Let's pretend this is before the economy tanked, say around '07, so Tim here has actual job prospects. On the one hand, our man Tim could choose to go to college, get a degree and work in some cubicle until he dies of old age. Retirement, as we're beginning to realize, is just not gonna happen. On the other hand, our man Tim could choose to enlist, go to war, and if he comes back he might just come back fucked up in the head.
If he were me, he was fucked up in the head to begin with so it was just drops in the bucket.
Let's say Tim goes to college. He works part-time at some soul-killing minimum-wage job like all college students should, and the most he gets out of it is a real motivation to do well in school so he doesn't have to keep doing that same soul-killing minimum-wage job. He does fairly well in his classes, not quite as well as he did in high school but well enough. When he wraps up his time in college he's twenty-three, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to start a career in whatever field he studied for.
Jack seems to think that our man Tim deserves our support, morally and financially, because Tim is studying art or history or engineering or whatever. I disagree. Tim is studying, and the only real, direct beneficiary of Tim's studying is Tim. Tim's parents might enjoy a more comfortable retirement, if they have one, if he does well, but overall he's really the only person who benefits from his college education.
Let's take a look at the other path, and say that Tim decides to enlist. He joins the Army, signs up for a combat arms MOS. Take your pick, my personal preference was 13B. Sucker that I am, my day-to-day wound up looking more like an 11B. Our man Tim, though, wraps up basic training with about four to six months to train with his unit before he deploys over to Iraq. There's still and insurgency there, and overall Tim has a bad time. He manages to avoid catching any serious injuries, but he sees some stuff of the sort that you just can't unsee. He has some buddies blown up, but doesn't get into any firefights himself. He picks up physical and mental scars, and the deployment changes him in ways most people simply can't understand. When Tim finishes his first four-year contract he's twenty-three, but most people think he's closer to thirty. Some good has come of his time in the Army, he's stronger in mind and fitter in body than he's ever been, but overall he comes away damaged. His job prospects are actually pretty lousy, as many employers don't want to risk hiring a veteran who has the dreaded PTSD. He didn't acquire any job skills in the Army, at least none documented on paper, so the best he can really hope for is that someone he knows is looking to hire somebody. Tim comes to the realization that while civilians will smile to his face and thank him for his service, he can't find too many willing to pull the knife out of his back.
Jack seems to think that this version of Tim isn't particularly worthy of support, being that all he did was go over to some foreign country and pick fights with people Jack's pretty sure would leave us alone if we'd just leave them alone. What Jack doesn't seem to understand is that when Tim joined the Army, he didn't join some mercenary outfit. It's called the service for a reason. Just like policemen and firefighters, servicemen provide a fundamental necessity for modern life. The problem is that we do our job too well, and there are a lot of people in the Free World who take their liberty for granted. There are a lot of people who fail to understand that freedom is not the natural order of things, that it takes a constant, active struggle - both politically and militarily - for a nation to remain free.
Remind me sometime, and I'll have to go into just what freedom is. I've had plenty of time to think on tower guard.
I think you can imagine my reaction. "Ungrateful pissants" was only the start. I think that might provide fodder for another post, but not today.
I'll go more into my reasoning here, and I'll pull experiences off my own life. I was, as matter of fact, a nineteen-year-old in college and a twenty-year-old in Iraq. I had my twenty-first birthday in a guard tower. The sons of bitches on duty with me, having found out my birthdate from my section chief, sang "Happy Birthday" over the radio. Bastards. I digress.
Let's imagine, if you will, two paths a life may have taken. Picture a nineteen-year-old male, fresh out of high school. We'll call him Tim. Let's pretend this is before the economy tanked, say around '07, so Tim here has actual job prospects. On the one hand, our man Tim could choose to go to college, get a degree and work in some cubicle until he dies of old age. Retirement, as we're beginning to realize, is just not gonna happen. On the other hand, our man Tim could choose to enlist, go to war, and if he comes back he might just come back fucked up in the head.
If he were me, he was fucked up in the head to begin with so it was just drops in the bucket.
Let's say Tim goes to college. He works part-time at some soul-killing minimum-wage job like all college students should, and the most he gets out of it is a real motivation to do well in school so he doesn't have to keep doing that same soul-killing minimum-wage job. He does fairly well in his classes, not quite as well as he did in high school but well enough. When he wraps up his time in college he's twenty-three, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to start a career in whatever field he studied for.
Jack seems to think that our man Tim deserves our support, morally and financially, because Tim is studying art or history or engineering or whatever. I disagree. Tim is studying, and the only real, direct beneficiary of Tim's studying is Tim. Tim's parents might enjoy a more comfortable retirement, if they have one, if he does well, but overall he's really the only person who benefits from his college education.
Let's take a look at the other path, and say that Tim decides to enlist. He joins the Army, signs up for a combat arms MOS. Take your pick, my personal preference was 13B. Sucker that I am, my day-to-day wound up looking more like an 11B. Our man Tim, though, wraps up basic training with about four to six months to train with his unit before he deploys over to Iraq. There's still and insurgency there, and overall Tim has a bad time. He manages to avoid catching any serious injuries, but he sees some stuff of the sort that you just can't unsee. He has some buddies blown up, but doesn't get into any firefights himself. He picks up physical and mental scars, and the deployment changes him in ways most people simply can't understand. When Tim finishes his first four-year contract he's twenty-three, but most people think he's closer to thirty. Some good has come of his time in the Army, he's stronger in mind and fitter in body than he's ever been, but overall he comes away damaged. His job prospects are actually pretty lousy, as many employers don't want to risk hiring a veteran who has the dreaded PTSD. He didn't acquire any job skills in the Army, at least none documented on paper, so the best he can really hope for is that someone he knows is looking to hire somebody. Tim comes to the realization that while civilians will smile to his face and thank him for his service, he can't find too many willing to pull the knife out of his back.
Jack seems to think that this version of Tim isn't particularly worthy of support, being that all he did was go over to some foreign country and pick fights with people Jack's pretty sure would leave us alone if we'd just leave them alone. What Jack doesn't seem to understand is that when Tim joined the Army, he didn't join some mercenary outfit. It's called the service for a reason. Just like policemen and firefighters, servicemen provide a fundamental necessity for modern life. The problem is that we do our job too well, and there are a lot of people in the Free World who take their liberty for granted. There are a lot of people who fail to understand that freedom is not the natural order of things, that it takes a constant, active struggle - both politically and militarily - for a nation to remain free.
Remind me sometime, and I'll have to go into just what freedom is. I've had plenty of time to think on tower guard.
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