Does supporting your governments military...

The military is a powerful tool. They can convince people to die for something that doesn't necessarily exist. Or, should I say that it is exists only because people agree that is does.

If the majority of North America agreed, tomorrow, that the USA didn't exist at all, it would cease to exist. Same goes for money, the power of certain leaders, diamonds, gold, the stock market. Everything. Here we are convincing young people that they ought to die for a construct. Not only should we die for it, we should slaughter other humans for it. Soldiers die every day because they think their country is great. Or worth fighting for. It's crazy.

It's interesting that you say that we "post pictures of dead soldiers." I wish we did that. If more Americans saw photographs/live footage of Americans killing people, or getting killed brutally, perhaps we would have a clearer picture of what the military really is. Murder, ordained by the government.

 

That's not complete support, that is human compassion. Which is much more commendable in my book.

 

But if you are going to be compassionate for "your" troops, regardless if you agree with their cause or not, then I think it makes sense you would have compassion for all people who fight and die in wars, regardless of which county they are fighting for. The problem with wars is that is that it gets us into an "us vs. them" mentality, where we lose sight of the fact that human life is human life, and there really are no good guys and bad guys -- just a bunch of duped people who believe they're fighting for "their side," which is the "right side." I really have no compassion for people who fight in wars and maim themselves for life or are killed. It's the whole live by the sword, die by the sword belief that causes me to not really have sympathy. But if I was to feel sympathy for one side, I would also have to have sympathy for the other, and I guess that comes from my understanding of just how unnatural and inhumane war is, and how propaganda can be used to get just about anyone, regardless of where they are from, to go off and fight in a war they believe to be for the benefit of themselves and their people.

 

I agree with what you're saying.
I know it's much more complicated, but the value of a human life without judgement is a commendable thing.
A human life is much more than that and I can't find myself to have much compassion for people who voluntarily let themselves be used as war slaves for their goverments agenda.

 

So you can't give yourself a pat on the back for compassion without judgement. Because in the same breath, you contradicted yourself.

 

I didn't contradict myself. I can still find it commendable and be flawed as a person, can't I?

 

As long as you acknowledge it. It sounds like you understand where you stand on the issue.

 

Exactly. I do respect people who have an unjudgemental view, I just can't do it myself on all issues.

 

When you pay your taxes you support our troops and that's good enough.

 

touche

 

In the United States, supporting the military and supporting the economy almost go hand-in-hand due to the military industrial complex.

In other countries, such as Israel where I am from, not supporting the military is thought of as a straight up act of treason by some... for a very good reason.

So, it depends. No one is really asking you to go out and put a "God Bless All Da Trups Lolz" bumper sticker on your car, but being purposefully and publically antagonistic to the military and its members is just silly and infantile.

 

How is Israel and the US any different in those terms, since Israel is basically just an outpost of the same said military-industrial complex?

 

Israel has its own advanced (partially) independent military-industrial complex.

But yes, to your point... Israel is probably the best example of a military-industrial complex. A huge part of Israel's profitablity and survival is due to Israel producing an excess of weaponry in order to sell battle tested weapons to foreign countries.

 

Just pawns in their game. I respect soldiers of my country for their bravery and willingness to fight for the country I love. I respect other soldiers for their toughness. I don't hold soldiers of my country accountable for the decisions of politicians

War is an unavoidable evil. A part of human nature. In the real world soldiers and armies are a necessity. There will always be people who take what they can by force

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A50lVLtSQik"]Donovan - Universal Soldier - YouTube

He's five foot two and he's six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of thirty-one and he's only seventeen
Been a soldier for a thousand years

He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew
And he knows he shouldn't kill and he knows he always will
Kill you for me my friend and me for you

And he's fighting for Canada
He's fighting for France, he's fighting for the U.S.A.
And he's fighting for the Russians
And he's fighting for Japan
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way

And he's fighting for Democracy, he's fighting for the Reds
He says "It's for the peace of all"
He's the one who must decide, who's to live and who's to die
And he never sees the writing on the wall

But without him
How would Hitler have condemned him at Labau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He's the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war
And without him all this killing can't go on

He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame
His orders come from far away no more
They come from here and there and you and me
And brothers can't you see
This is not the way we put the end to war

 

"And he's fighting for Canada
He's fighting for France, he's fighting for the U.S.A.
And he's fighting for the Russians
And he's fighting for Japan
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way"


He doesn't fight for Costa Rica.

 

Pray tell, what might that reason be?

If you live in a democracy where your right to free speech is protected you may publicly state your opinion even if unpopular.

 

i kinda wanna ask the next person with a support the troops ribbon on their car, what exactly they do to support them. probably just thank them for their service?

i feel grateful that some people are willing to volunteer for the military...because then i don't have to get drafted.

i feel that military is necessary like deranged said, but i also feel like i cannot support it.

it doesn't really seem like we are "fighting for our freedom" anymore. that probably hasn't been true since the world wars, but it seems like most military-minded people still act like we are the patriots going up against mother england.

we aren't the ones being invaded anymore. it is us that invades foreign countries and kill civilians as collateral damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=focEtOHqC90"]Built to Spill - They Got Away (Live at the Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS 10-19-2013 - YouTube

http://grooveshark.com/s/They+Got+Away/2piEe?src=5
^^^the album version, since the live is not great quality



"we would never con no one
the intelligence we received was wrong.
...

we would never harm no one
we would only strategically bomb.
all of humanity hangs by a thread."

 

I agree. This "support our brave troops" bullshit is cowardice in the extreme.

Its basically extremist scum hiding behind the Stars and Stripes/Union Jack/whatever.

Iraq only happened because that bent prick Bush didn't like Saddam Hussein for family reasons... AND wanted to rob a lot of oil for him and his cronies.

The vast majority of em haven't even risked their life in any way. Its pressing a button from a jet/ship/for a drone etc etc. They're basically terrorists in their own right.

The worst part is, that when a war REALLY is justified - like Russia vs Chechen/Georgian maniacs, the American lie machine actually has the neck to criticise it.

The West is no different from Hitler. Its like capturing some SS who then say "ahh we were only doing it for Germany..." And then expecting to be let off scott free.

Those who committed genocide in Iraq etc should be tried for genocide.

The whole thing seems really fucked up. The West invades the Middle East for no reason. Then we have Muslim pondlife invading the West... for no reason.

Some seriously fucked up people run countries in the West.

 

yeah, but how does that change anything? Its still infantile.

Like the soldiers who were treated like absolute dog shit coming back from Vietnam, when most of them were drafted....

dumb ol' hippies.