When one is being used to prosecute imperialism by killing the wrong people, with no relationship to the defense of our homeland, then, no, you are no hero and the American people should not support you.
I know that puts paid to the veterans of Vietnam, for whom I have sympathy. But the shadow play was very evident by the late 1960s when I was going to college and faced with the draft. The U.S. government was not interested in winning a war; it was only interested in expending manpower to continue a war. I was glad not to be a part of it. The returning vets got unjust treatment, in part. They were forced to do things they shouldn't have had to do by otherwise legal authority (though some might question that, with grounds). They suffered. But they also participated in a killing spree from both sides. If the ends justified the means, the ends were a failure and the means were unjustified.
The next occasion where we were on the wrong side was in Kosovo, bombing Serbians, our former World War II allies, for the sake of an insurrectionist Islamic overthrow of government in Kosovo.
And then we have the middle east. We all have the best opinion and wishes for our servicemen, but the spectacle of our corrupt foreign policy may also be a factor in the dwindling recruitment rates.
You were lucky to not be drafted! We agree that they were forced to do things under legal authority, such is the case when you sign a contract with the military. My BIL signed for National guard, he had a baby on the way. A few weeks after boot, he was deployed to Iraq. He’s one of my heroes, as I’m sure your grandfather is for you, but he had no choice in his deployment. Most boots on the ground don’t. To hold our servicemen and women accountable for the decisions of the corrupt foreign policies is farcical.
Indeed, I was lucky. In my sophomore year, the U.S. transitioned to the lottery system and I drew a 300. Who said anything about accountability? I was just saying that performing faithfully in an imperialistic operation does not make a soldier a hero. Who wants to be known as the pilot who bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade?
When one is being used to prosecute imperialism by killing the wrong people, with no relationship to the defense of our homeland, then, no, you are no hero and the American people should not support you.
I know that puts paid to the veterans of Vietnam, for whom I have sympathy. But the shadow play was very evident by the late 1960s when I was going to college and faced with the draft. The U.S. government was not interested in winning a war; it was only interested in expending manpower to continue a war. I was glad not to be a part of it. The returning vets got unjust treatment, in part. They were forced to do things they shouldn't have had to do by otherwise legal authority (though some might question that, with grounds). They suffered. But they also participated in a killing spree from both sides. If the ends justified the means, the ends were a failure and the means were unjustified.
The next occasion where we were on the wrong side was in Kosovo, bombing Serbians, our former World War II allies, for the sake of an insurrectionist Islamic overthrow of government in Kosovo.
And then we have the middle east. We all have the best opinion and wishes for our servicemen, but the spectacle of our corrupt foreign policy may also be a factor in the dwindling recruitment rates.
You were lucky to not be drafted! We agree that they were forced to do things under legal authority, such is the case when you sign a contract with the military. My BIL signed for National guard, he had a baby on the way. A few weeks after boot, he was deployed to Iraq. He’s one of my heroes, as I’m sure your grandfather is for you, but he had no choice in his deployment. Most boots on the ground don’t. To hold our servicemen and women accountable for the decisions of the corrupt foreign policies is farcical.
Indeed, I was lucky. In my sophomore year, the U.S. transitioned to the lottery system and I drew a 300. Who said anything about accountability? I was just saying that performing faithfully in an imperialistic operation does not make a soldier a hero. Who wants to be known as the pilot who bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade?