i was raised on army bases and i loved it. when i had to go into the coast guard reserve, i hated it! being a dependent we had our own schools, markets with much lower prices than on the outside, gas-stations with the same, universal health insurance for soldiers and their families. when we moved we got all our goods sent around the world and free housing. what more can i want?
well, well, freedom, i suppose. that's what one air force woman said: you get all these things and all you have to do is give up your freedom! that's what i felt when i entered the coast guard. this was during vietnam and i had to do something. guess what, i felt it was the experience of being a slave. no wonder people would rather be free than secure at such a cost.
okay, since it's the fourth of july and tanks rolling around washington at the behest of a wood-be dictator, it might be interesting to ask the price of freedom? our military has been very subservient to the civilian authorities, lucky for us, not always lucky for them. the civilians have often asked them to do disastrous and stupid things, like invading iraq and afghanistan.
true, there used to be a civilian military. the draft ended with vietnam and the protests. i remember a cartoon where a soldier said, a least i have job. and certainly the army is a good job for someone in poverty. they've raised the pay and provided more perks. the only drawback is getting shot to pieces or blown up. i don't know if he was a vet, but the other day i had a fellow come up with his three little kids. he had one arm and could only walk very stiffly six inches at a time.
"americans love their military". and we've gotten our wealth from fighting everybody else on the planet. the american revolution an uprising by those willing to fight essentially a civil war, the losers moving to canada. and every violent revolution has resulted in tighter restrictions on their population. on the whole we've kept our good name by willing to go to war at the drop of a hat. so celebrate spending half the wealth of the country on warships and stealth bombers. as long as the system works i don't expect anything to change.
