Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Blake,
There are a lot of nuances to this discussion. It's tough to bring them all together.
Perhaps one of the more important ones is that many military personnel serve for the right reasons, even if misguided. The desire to defend freedom is clearly virtuous.
The problem, on the other hand, is manifold.
-All wars that the US has engaged in for the last seven decades, at least, have been built on lies that profit a select few at the expense of not just American lives, but those they're sent to attack.
-When you sign the dotted line to become military, it is a form of slavery. You go where told, do what you're told, take injections, fight against contrived enemies, etc. You receive the information they want you to believe so that you can feel like you're engaging the "enemy" for a just cause (except for the few who will follow orders regardless and the even fewer who see through the lies and refuse to engage).
-With the militarization of the various LEOs now, there is a very real fear that posse comitatus will be breached. Is there enough integrity left in the military brass to stand up to such tyranny on behalf of the people? It seems that in light of the willingness to attack contrived enemies right now, that the concern may be founded.
My family has a military background all the way back to at least Bloody Mary. They've fought in every US war from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam. It stopped there. I considered the military when young, but decided against it after learning that the recruiters were "permitted" to lie in their recruitment and that any agreements were not binding.
There are so many clichés that are tossed around, but have no meaning. Of course, the biggest one is that soldiers defend our freedom - No, not really. My freedom has never been so threatened as it is today, by those who are sending soldiers to bomb people in far away lands. The tool of the military to build up the illusion of threats so they could attempt to justify their tyranny is doing nothing for my freedom. While many soldiers are willing to fight for my freedom, while it is severely threatened and has been incredibly undermined, it has yet to be threatened by foreign enemies.
I don't say this to disparage soldiers. If their hearts are in the right place then they're fighting for the right reasons, even though those reasons are lies. For that, they deserve respect. But it's hard for many to separate the deeds of the elite from the actions of their tools. And, though nobody wants to be called such, the US military is clearly a tool of the elite, and has been since at least WWII. Ike, and many before him, warned, but who listened?
You'll find that many who claim the anarchist title are well versed in the history of the Fed and their manipulation of US economy and foreign affairs. This, in and of itself, is a form of forced servitude = slavery. We're all treated like pawns in their master plan, but the military doubly so. And, now, we're watching as "law enforcement" agencies are continuously turned against the people to enforce the unconstitutional whims of their string pullers. Is this the freedom that our military has defended, spending many times what it would cost to feed every man, woman and child in the US?
Respectfully,
Joe
@anotherjoe Your statement about our wars going back 70 years being founded on lies is subjective. World War 2 wasn't declared on lies, and Vietnam was, but LBJ and JFK before him had actual reasons for fighting that war, they lied to accomplish what they saw as important ends, and afganistan was totally justified as far as I'm concerned. I think the major point you are refusing to admit is that a person is free to choose to join the army or not join the army. A person can know all the facts you know and join the army. They can believe that the American people are expressing their will through elected officials, rather than being enslaved by those officials, and that's a judgement call. If you and I worked from the same facts, you'd say the system was a lie, and I'd say it wasn't, to oversimplify.
You anarchists argue like communists..
Actually, documents declassified a few decades ago proved that Roosevelt knew exactly what he was doing when he forced Japan into a corner, prompting Pearl Harbor. He knew about the attack well before it happened. They were not the aggressor. He was. And he did it to force the US into the war. The American people refused to fully engage up to that point, and he knew they wouldn't unless provoked. It's documented, not a guess, supposition or subjective.
I agree with everyone's right to choose to join the military. I don't agree with everyone being forced to pay for it. And I certainly don't agree with the US' "right" to go around attacking people. Police state? It's all about profits. Perhaps this is something you should investigate further.
If you worked from the facts I view, you joining the army would be the same as asking to be a slave and have your life thrown away for the profit and mechanizations of the oligarchy. If you could do that, then your statement is accurate.
"You anarchists argue like communists.." Did you really say that? This is perhaps the most idiotic thing I've seen said throughout this discussion. It's inflammatory and uncalled for. You look through all my responses and I've simply disagreed and tried to show why some anarchists have a poor view of soldiers, mostly because I'm sympathetic to what this article is saying.
"You anarchists argue like communists.." This is uncalled for and inflammatory...