Wrong Place For Nothing But Right

We went to a volunteer military force in 1973. What do we have today? A lot of kids with no ideological bent and a military hierarchy leaning strongly to the right. Progressive centrists such as myself are a shrinking minority in the military. If we don’t get a better cross section of our society into the military trouble is brewing for our kids and grandkids. Today, in Iraq and in America our industrial military complex is learning and refining the “art” of large scale urban pacification and surveillance.

Wise Up

We must crack the stranglehold that the republicans have on the military culture and the southern culture -- make them wise up and see that the democrats are the party they should support.

We must take the military away from the Republicans so they can't abuse the military the way they're doing.

There is absolutely NO Justification for a political show to be on every day three hours a day with no opposing viewpoint. The military should not be politicized.

That sick prick has no business preaching to a shit load under-educated kids.

That is exactly why we must take the military back from the right. We have can't let the far right create and keep a bastion in the south and in the military. If they feel safe there, they'll ignore those areas and focus their resources on taking even more of the borderline states. We have to be able to credibily steal away the military vote and the southern vote. A token defense or conceding those areas would only free up Bush's warchest and campaign visits. That would be a disaster for the nonsouthern borderline states.

The Draft is the only place we can go. The thought of "all" of this power in the hands of the far right is the death of democracy.

The key is to educate them and to create bridging structures. To tie them more closely to civilians so that they don't feel alienated from the people they protect. The Civilian Reserve proposed by Clark helps somewhat. Another is to take the power away from Chickenhawks and give it to people who know the value of war and death and would do anything they can to avoid it. The hold that the Republicans have is mostly cultural, that's why we must do everything we can to advance the timetable of the new emerging democratic majority in the south.

From my early enlisted days tutoring good, illiterate guys, almost exclusively from the south, to my end days feeling alienated from the core of leadership I believed a volunteer force was a good thing. Logic now tells me an unrepresentative military is a recipe for disaster. Your points are valid but unattainable.

never actually go to war themselves.
http://www.nhgazette.com/cgi-bin/NHGstore.cgi?user_action=list&category=%20NEWS%3B%20Chickenhawks
And according to them, there is no need for the draft.
Besides which, the powers that be, have other plans for us liberals.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/08/01_coulter.html

But liberals are indignant for every day that we haven't turned a barbaric land into Vermont. They were willing to give Stalin 36 years for the awkwardness of his revolution. We have essentially imposed a revolution on Iraq – and liberals give us a month to work out the bugs. U.S. forces in Baghdad say that Iraq is well on its way to establishing American-style representative democracy and might even be holding its first free elections in less than a year. Within three years, the Iraqi people could be recalling their first governor.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20030828.shtml

Ann Coulter is a MOST reliable source of information and therefore when she and the current administration say that all is well in Baghdad, then all is well in Baghdad.
Rummy says that additional troops are not needed and therefore, additional troops are not needed.
Let those right-wing sympathizers who support the war go and fight it while the rest of us stay home and
VOTE THIS ADMINISTRATION OUT OF POWER.
Once we figure out what to with DieBold, of course.

But if you lot feel that we Democrats need to be fighting the Iraqi people
(as opposed to Saddam Hussein)
then please, do your bit for patriotism.
ENLIST.

Don't just sit there endorsing the draft,
show them what you are made of.
http://www.objector.org/before-you-enlist.html

is busy killing off all those who made the mistake of enlisting.

The military families are NOT going to be voting them back in anytime soon.
Like father, like son.
One term only.

However, Wanda Sykes assures me there are still plenty of rocks and coyotes hanging around, so we better do something about the Black Box Voting problem.

I was going to join the military in 90, because of Bush 1, I had no job opportunities out of High School, and couldn't afford college. Thankfully I didn't, otherwise I would have been in Gulf War I. That is not because I fear war, but I disagreed with the reason for the war.

My question to you is this, how can a consciable person of strong liberal beleifs, function in an army where there orders go against not just their beleifs, but the beleifs of any respectable modern nation?

Have you had to confront anything like this, or have you been fortunate in not meeting any conflicts with your beleifs?

PB

I have been in conflict with my beliefs for many years.
Do we need a military? Yes.
Do we need a global military capable of striking anywhere?...

We have troops in hundreds of countries. We used to be welcomed, mingling with the locals. Now we are holed up in fortified garrisons with minimal contact. If you are going to join the military and you have a strong conviction of progressive and humanist ideals, become an officer and talk to your troops.

Thanks for your service!

The problem is the military is essentially to some degree structured around brainwashing recruits to be obedient.

It's ironic that so many members of the military come from lower middle-class to poor and ethnic backgrounds and are the one's who along w/ their family and friends are the most likely to be hurt by the policies of the rightwing and yet, because of their indoctrination they end up supporting the rightwing w/ their votes.

...provided it is used sparingly.

I remember all the articles written in the 80s concerning the pros and cons of the volunteer Army.

IF it is used in a mostly defensive way....and IF it is used for military missions other than war....then it's the best thing since sliced bread.

WHEN it's used by the REAGANITES in charge as a tool....it becomes a true rip off.....and I hope the families of those that have been involved in this spread their discontent from sea to shining sea to truly express the depth of their feelings on this.

Bush abused this volunteer Army and has the gall to stand up before them and the American people and proclaim that the mess he has created has any resemblance to victory.

What else is the unPATRIOT Act for?

If we don't change, yes... I could see myself there. For my children.

“I had one guy tell me all he wanted was to see his little daughter; she was born three days after the war started. He died in the sand holding my hand and crying because his daughter would never know him. Tell me that’s fu..ing right. Where was George Bush when this kid was gasping for air and spitting his blood on foreign soil?”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0310/S00105.htm

How does it help your own children?

I think we're on the same side just on different pages. Look at the original post. Weather we like it or not the last sentence is happening. "For my children" is when that happens here.

I will fight.