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Title: There Are Too Many Veterans
Source:
Lew Rockwell
URL Source: http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance126.html
Published: Nov 12, 2007
Author: Laurence Vance
Post Date: 2007-11-12 06:41:23 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 3355
Comments: 251
We have too many veterans. We have too many living veterans. We have too many dead veterans. We have too many wounded veterans. We have too many disabled veterans. We have too many veterans who have fought in wars. We have too many veterans who have never fired a shot. Any way you look at it, we have too many veterans. Veterans Day began as Armistice Day – a day to commemorate the signing of the armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that ended fighting on the Western Front in World War I, "the war to end all wars." A few years after World War II, the holiday was changed to Veterans Day as a tribute to all soldiers who fought for their country. Veterans Day has now become a day to honor, not just those who have served in the military during wartime, but those who have served during peacetime or are serving now. It has also become a day – even though we have Armed Forces Day – to recognize all things military. Why? Why do most Americans hold veterans and current members of the U.S. military in such high esteem? Why is there such a military mindset in the United States? One reason people feel this way is because they falsely believe that those who serve in the military are somehow defending our freedoms. They are convinced that it is the military that stands between a free society and subjugation by some foreign power. They think that it is because of the military that we still have our First Amendment rights. It is inevitable that whenever I write about the military I receive an e-mail or two from a current or former member of the military who closes his rebuke (which usually argues that I have the freedom to write the "trash" that I write because of the U.S. military) with this simplistic cliché: "If you can read this e-mail, thank a teacher. If you can read it in English, thank a Marine." Has anyone ever thought this through? Are we are supposed to believe that the German army that couldn’t cross the English Channel to invade Great Britain and make its population speak German was going to cross the Atlantic Ocean to invade the United States and make us all speak German if it wasn’t for the Marines? Or was it Japanese that the Marines kept us from speaking? Or perhaps it was Spanish because of the tremendous threat we faced from Spain during the Spanish-American War? Were we in danger of having to speak Russian during the Cold War? Looking at the history of U.S. military interventions, there is one thing we can thank the Marines for: We can thank the Marines for helping to carry out an evil, interventionist U.S. foreign policy. Thanks a lot, jarheads. Semper Fi and all that jazz. Our freedoms, our liberties, and our Constitution that all Marines swear to uphold are under attack by our government. The state is a greater enemy than any foreign country or ruler. If the Marines are to really defend our freedoms, then they should be deployed to Washington D.C. After they oversee the closure of most federal agencies and expel the bureaucrats from the city, they can protect the Constitution (with fixed bayonets) from its daily assault by the members of Congress. In that case I would even say with you: "The few, the proud, the Marines." Another reason the military is held in such high esteem is that most Americans wrongfully assume that the military is actually engaged in defending the country. They don’t know about the hundreds of U.S. military bases on foreign soil. They don’t realize that there are thousands of U.S. troops stationed abroad to defend other countries. They have no idea that the United States has troops in 150 different regions of the world. Instead, they think that it is because of the military fighting terrorists "over there" that we don’t have to fight them "over here." The threat of a conquest of America by foreign invasion is nonexistent. And if we were attacked with nuclear weapons, even the Marines would be helpless to defend us. Although the purpose of the U.S. military should only be to defend the United States from genuine attacks and credible enemies, it has primarily been used to intervene in the affairs of other countries. When all of the troops come home and start guarding our borders and patrolling our coasts then, and only then, can we say that the military is defending the country. Even the Coast Guard, which actually patrols our coasts, is tainted – thanks to another unconstitutional, unwinnable war that the government is engaged in that is more destructive than the "enemy" we are fighting: the war on drugs. Still another reason for the military mindset is that members of the military are viewed as "public servants." Members of Congress like to brag about how they have been in public service their whole life. Some policemen and firemen have jumped on the "public service" bandwagon as well. But if you want to be a policeman or a fireman, fine, just don’t expect us get excited about the fact that you have a job. And plenty of jobs are just as dangerous. Veterans are looked upon as special because they "served" in the military. It didn’t take any special education, experience, or accomplishments to land a job in the military – they just signed on the dotted line. We don’t bestow any special honors on bricklayers, mechanics, and accountants; yet, we see plenty of bumper stickers that say things like: "My son is in the Air Force." We never see "My son is a plumber" or "My son is a garbage collector" or "My son is a waiter"? And why not? The people in those occupations don’t drop bombs on anyone. They "serve" some important needs of society. Shouldn’t we honor them as least as much as soldiers? It is unfortunate that some of the most vocal defenders of today’s military are Christians. It is even worse that churches fawn over current and former members of the military on Veterans Day. In response to my recent article "Should Anyone Join the Military," I was chastised by two detractors. The first asked if I could read the Old Testament and still say that no one should serve in the military. I was also told that God instructed the Jews and others to destroy people. It is not hard for me to read the Old Testament and still say that no one should serve in the military. America is not Israel, and the U.S. military is not God’s army. And telling me that God instructed the Jews and others to destroy people is like telling George Bush that he is the decider. There is no denying that God instructed the Jews and others to destroy people. But George Bush is not God, America is not the nation of Israel, and God didn’t command the U.S. military to kill anyone. My other detractor appealed to Alphonsus Liguori and maintained that as the sword maker has no control over the product, so "the soldier does not commit an actual sin unless he chooses to break a moral law while in the military." It is "the leaders or military officers who sin when they issue immoral orders." Military service is "morally neutral." But what kind of morality is this? It certainly isn’t Christian. What kind of morality says that it would be okay to kill someone in an unjust war in his own country who was no threat to you or your country because you are wearing a military uniform? Oh, I forgot: Just don’t break a moral law while you are killing him. It is high time that Americans stop elevating members of the military to a position of honor. It is long past the time when veterans have done anything honorable. We should abolish Veterans Day. And because of our shameful foreign policy and militarism during the twentieth century, we should abolish any Armistice Day celebration as well.
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#123. To: robin (#112)
I believe his implication was, not to put too fine a point on it, that if a couple of circumstances were reversed we'd have a fleet at the eastern most point of the Mediterranean and be making very nasty threats and charges against the nuclear nation in that neighborhood.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
i've really enjoyed your posts today, iconoclast.
Japan made a big budget movie recently that was controversial because it portrayed Hideki Tojo in what some consider to be an overly sympathetic light. The Germans and Japs are both beginning to take cultural steps to cast WWII in a different light. Movies portraying their fighting men as heroic victims is the first step in this process. The German made films "Das Boot" and later "Stalingrad"- are both along these lines (and Stalingrad was very much a white wash of the German armies actions in that city.) Rather- they are portrayed as simps being used by evil governments and a few radicals- while most were apathetic or hostile to their governments and the wars they were being made to fight. This is of course- bullshit. They were, for the most part, happy willing participants. We saw the same process with Vietnam. It wasn't the two million Vietnamese killed by Americans that were the victims- nope- it was the Vietnam Vet. He is the victim in our culture. Either a victim of his government or a victim of "cowardly traitors" at home. No personal responsibility for their actions whatsoever. Which is pretty much the reigning notion in America- no one is responsible for anything they do ever. Always someone or something else is to blame.
Thank you, dear. You caught me right before I toddled off to bed with my still employed nursie. Night night ... see you tomorrow, God willing and errands allowing.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
Once again, why should I "thank" somebody for siding with one Somali warlord over another, bombing Serbia or occupying Iraq? How did any of that nonsense "protect our freedoms?" It didn't. Actually- all those ridiculous engagements and wars are directly responsible for destroying our freedoms . . . because that is what standing militaries do to republics. They are used abroad to make enemies that then are cited to justify police powers at home. This isn't new. Madison, Jefferson wrote about this at length 200 years ago. Hell- Tacitus wrote about it 2000 years ago. And why should be people who did this be entitled to some kind of special standing in society? They shouldn't be. But they are give uncritical almost saint like status so that any criticism of the warfare state can be easily construed as criticizing the sainted holy veterans who are numerous. The armed wing of the state is given honor and status in every culture- in America it is more nauseating than most- because otherwise they would just be armed thugs. And that is all a standing military really is- the armed thugs of the state. Take away the medals, the parades, and their often cited but rarely if ever followed "codes of honor" and that is what you have- thugs. Blow away the cultural shit mist that surrounds standing militaries and all you have left is a bunch of young men with guns ready and willing to kill for the state. By the way- the only "code" that the US military seems to have is not "death before dishonor", not any chivalric code of combat that holds them to certain rules that they would rather die for than violate . . . nope- it seems to be little more than "Do anything it takes to come home alive in one piece".
Gee, that should be a smash hit in Nanking.
you have left is a bunch of young "ignorant" men with guns ready and willing to kill for the state. I must be pointed out you left out the adjectivialy important ignorant. Not a perjoritive, just a fact.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" Given that mass media was a pretty new thing in the early 20th century and people all over the world were falling for the great big stupid simplifications of history - like communism and various specious national fascist movements- I can forgive most Americans for being taken in by the scaremongering of a few Newspaper and Radio barons and their DC buddies. But now? Americans should be the most media savy people on the planet. And yet- Iraq- effing Iraq, even an Iraq with WMDs, was sold to them as a threat? Islam? Islam is coming to get them? Give me a break. Americans deep down all know these are lies. They don't care or they want these wars. They like it! They like DC "kicking ass". Nope. It ain't just the "elites" who are to blame. Americans share in the blame.
That might be my motto if in the hell of war.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" In the case of the American standing military- yes- "ignorant" does indeed apply. Which makes it an even more dangerous institution. Which army do you think was better educated? The Wermacht circa 1941 or the US military circa 2007? Think about that. Think about what some kid raised on rap, Grand Theft Auto, and porn is doing in Iraq right now compared to a German raised on American westerns and big band music and what we know they did in Russia and Poland. I shudder.
Don't just blame the military, the corporations are what make it possible. Privatization shows that the corporations don't need the military to continue their evil machinations.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
Except that doesn't jive with his other posts.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
BTW, "The War" is very much worth watching, just as his Civil War documentary was. We were not ready for WWII, but we got ready in a hurry. A future enemy would not give us that kind of time. And now that we've given away all our manufacturing, we really would have to start from scratch.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
That has been the motto of every soldier in every modern war. There is no higher code than that. Bomb goes off near you- shoot everyone and ask questions later- or not- as is the case most of the time. Do anything- kill anyone- to stay alive or unharmed. That was the reasoning behind the "heros of Haditha" as they are called on Newsmax. Bomb went of- kill everyone nearby. Sniper in a house somewhere? Don't risk your ass by moving in on him on the ground and trying to take just him out- nope- just bomb the neighborhood and kill 50 people. That is "honorable"? There is no honor in these wars. None. The rationale behind the burning to death of infants at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was that it saved the lives of American troops. Well- that is fine and all- but it ain't honorable.
Which army do you think was better educated? The Wermacht circa 1941 or the US military circa 2007? Think about that. Think about what some kid raised on rap, Grand Theft Auto, and porn is doing in Iraq right now compared to a German raised on American westerns and big band music and what we know they did in Russia and Poland. I shudder. B I was going to try to be clever but it seems small.................. I agree, it is too obvious to not agree.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" Intereatingly enough, the Chinese government has forbid large protests and remembrances of the rape of Nanking as China and Japan move ever closer together economically (China is now Japan's number one trading partner- just surpassing the US this last year.) Political realignments of silly governments always follow behind the economic reality of never silly commerce- but it will come eventually.
There is no honor in these wars. None. The rationale behind the burning to death of infants at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was that it saved the lives of American troops. Well- that is fine and all- but it ain't honorable. Yep - Ya put people in these horrible situations you can expect horrible results. Of that I am sure of. So the question to my mind is how did people who cannot find Iraq on the friqqing globe and know NOTHING of the real situation there get issued guns bombs jet fighters, tanks etc. As you know Burke, that is the fundamental horror of the war.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" Ever see the movie "Idiocracy"? It isn't that much of a parody of a dumbed down stupid America steeped in porn and gratuitous violence- an utterly barren culture ruled by base passions.
Hello iconoclast and christine. Greetings palo verde. I figured with all the negative notoriety we Ron Paul supporters were getting at LP it was time to look for a venue more open to a foreign policy of non-intervention. I am now a strong Ron Paul supporter, and have been since this summer.
Welcome to 4!
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
Welcome...and don't worry about mentioning 'Ron Paul'...we can handle it. :-)
No. But I see it every day. However I ask the folks I know if they "hate Iraqis or Iranians) just to see what is out there. It catches them by surprise, I think. Normally they say no, its their goverment they have a issue with. Which is a joke, cause I KNOW they know next to nothing about the issues. I just smile, at least someone asked them, maybe they will investigate a bit further. Don't hold our collective breaths on it.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" Thanks for the warm welcome.
Ask them how much time they spend worrying about Iran killing them personally or any of their family? Ask them to walk around with a clip board for one week and to note every time a wave of fear about Iran or "Terrorism" takes a hold of them. If one of them actually has even one check down by the end of the week they are either retarded or dishonest.
hi buckeye, welcome! glad you've joined us. ;)
what other forums besides LP is censoring RP articles and news?
FR and Red State. He has the interventionists very worried.
did you know that Nat'l Right To Life is going to endorse Fred Thompson? can you imagine rejecting the pro life ob/gyn Paul in favor of Thompson? yeah, you bet the interventionists are worried.
They're entirely worried about the wrong things. If 95% of pro-GOP voters could see how their Republic is being undermined by globalism from the inside out, they would walk away from the pied pipers leading them to their enslavement. It's no wonder the GOP's favorite slogan is: they hate us because we're free.
Perhaps if you or your sons are ever called upon to fight for this country, you'll understand. One of the "fruits" of these ill-begotten wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the lack of respect for those that have served in the armed forces throughout this Nation's history. I see the NWO's plans are working, even on those that think they are impervious to such psychological manipulation.
See anybody coming to our assistance? Who'd want to after we are the ones that started it?
So are you attempting to say that the US was not involved in WWII?
There are many that enter the military out of sense of duty to their country. That they are used to fight unnecessary wars is not their doing. Their hearts were in the right place, but the reality today is that they aren't truly defending this country over in Iraq, contrary to what the media has led the general population to believe. Then there ARE those that simply can't find work who opt for military service, but should we look down upon them, or understand that the lack of work is the end result of those that have betrayed our country and exported many jobs previously performed by American workers? I have no respect for those that partake in torture and brutality, but DO respect those that truly served this country when called upon to do so. They BELIEVED they were fighting for this country's defense. Have none of you had fathers that fought in the wars of the past?
Couldn't agree more. I'm deeply disappointed that RP isn't getting the response from the public at large that he is from internet folk. There are two homes in my neighborhood that I thought might be good candidates for an RP yard sign ... one had a homemade sign saying "End the War", the other had one of those American flags with the stars forming a peace sign. I talked to a person at each and left them my phone number, neither were familiar with the only non-interventionist in the race. Neither phoned me. The sheeple are so conditioned to the two-party-one-message bondage that they just can't get there minds(?) around any other alternative. God help us.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
I don't disagree that if Israel didn't exist that the imperialists would invent another excuse but they'd have a hell of time inventing a better one. The Zionist cause has not only the backing of openly dual-allegiance agents with piles of money and tremendous cultural influence but a legion of nut-case fundamentalists as well.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
I find that to be a trait common to all humanity. I guess I came out of the womb an iconoclast. Even as a very young man I found the Nuremberg Trials troubling. My feeling even then was that those chickens could come home to roost, there being no people on earth immune to the effects of fevered nationalism, propaganda, and charismatic leadership (whether evil or otherwise misguided). Parenthetically, I have no German blood in my veins, my forebearers being all Irish or Scots-Irish. But one of my favorite uncles by marriage was of German parentage and he fought under Patton. The irony was not lost on me that the young men firing at each other were surely victims of manipulation by the powerful and rabidly self assured.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
I hold that also to be a universal trait.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
Contradictions have a way of slipping in when passionate men speak. ;-)
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
I'm not blaming the military. I am not a pacifist, just (I would hope) a sane man inhabiting a mad nation. Don't get me started on corporations. I'm even more iconoclastic on that topic. Suffice to say that corporate business structure and a large and powerful central government is a marriage made in hell.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
Bingo! Time is not our impediment, globalism is.
Republicans (Democrats for that matter) ....... HAD ENOUGH?
Did you get into an argument with them?
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestNo, I am not being sarcastic, I do not understand what he is trying to say.
#124. To: iconoclast (#122)
#125. To: tom007 (#113)
#126. To: christine (#124)
i've really enjoyed your posts today, iconoclast.
#127. To: Rupert_Pupkin (#96)
#128. To: Burkeman1 (#125)
The Germans and Japs are both beginning to take cultural steps to cast WWII in a different light. Movies portraying their fighting men as heroic victims is the first step in this process.
#129. To: Burkeman1 (#127)
you have left is a bunch of young men with guns ready and willing to kill for the state.
#130. To: RickyJ (#118)
Of course the elite are really responsible for our involvement in these wars, only they are powerful enough to get a superpower to fight for them.
#131. To: Burkeman1 (#127)
nope- it seems to be little more than "Do anything it takes to come home alive in one piece".
#132. To: tom007 (#129)
#133. To: iconoclast (#122)
#134. To: iconoclast (#123)
#135. To: iconoclast (#122)
#136. To: tom007 (#131)
That might be my motto if in the hell of war.
#137. To: Burkeman1 (#132)
In the case of the American standing military- yes- "ignorant" does indeed apply. Which makes it an even more dangerous institution.
#138. To: Jethro Tull (#128)
#139. To: Burkeman1 (#136)
Don't risk your ass by moving in on him on the ground and trying to take just him out- nope- just bomb the neighborhood and kill 50 people. That is "honorable"?
#140. To: tom007 (#139)
#141. To: iconoclast, christine, palo verde (#126)
#142. To: buckeye (#141)
I am now a strong Ron Paul supporter, and have been since this summer.
#143. To: buckeye (#141)
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
#144. To: Burkeman1 (#140)
Ever see the movie "Idiocracy"? It isn't that much of a parody of a dumbed down stupid America steeped in porn and gratuitous violence- an utterly barren culture ruled by base passions.
#145. To: who knows what evil, robin (#143)
#146. To: tom007 (#144)
#147. To: buckeye (#141)
#148. To: buckeye (#145)
It wouldn't be a problem for just one forum doing this. But three that I know of? Something odd is happening.
#149. To: christine (#148)
#150. To: buckeye (#149)
#151. To: christine (#150)
#152. To: Rupert_Pupkin (#96)
And why should be people who did this be entitled to some kind of special standing in society?
You appear to be a major trouble maker...and I'm getting really pissed. - GoldiLox, 7/27/2006
#153. To: iconoclast (#106)
The "war" is not going well for us.
You appear to be a major trouble maker...and I'm getting really pissed. - GoldiLox, 7/27/2006
#154. To: iconoclast (#107)
You're a propagandist's wet dream.
You appear to be a major trouble maker...and I'm getting really pissed. - GoldiLox, 7/27/2006
#155. To: Ada (#0)
You appear to be a major trouble maker...and I'm getting really pissed. - GoldiLox, 7/27/2006
#156. To: Burkeman1 (#114)
Every war of DC's doing since 1898 has done absolutley nothing for 99.9 percent of Americans. Worse than nothing- has robbed them of treasure, grown the power of government over their lives in each successive war- or worst of all- taken one of their sons' lives.
#157. To: Burkeman1 (#119)
If Iranian Americans were richer, more numerous, and better connected to DC than Jewish Americans things would be different in the ME but do you doubt the US would still be waging elective wars there?
#158. To: Burkeman1 (#125)
Always someone or something else is to blame.
#159. To: Burkeman1 (#127)
"Do anything it takes to come home alive in one piece".
#160. To: robin, Burkeman! (#134)
Except that doesn't jive with his other posts.
#161. To: robin (#133)
Don't just blame the military, the corporations are what make it possible.
#162. To: robin (#135)
And now that we've given away all our manufacturing, we really would have to start from scratch.
#163. To: iconoclast (#156)
I talked to a person at each and left them my phone number, neither were familiar with the only non-interventionist in the race. Neither phoned me.
You appear to be a major trouble maker...and I'm getting really pissed. - GoldiLox, 7/27/2006
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