This is a bit of a lesser known situation, so I will poorly describe it real quick.
Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl became disillusioned with the US Army, the US itself, and the war effort. Reports are conflicting, but it seems pretty likely that he deserted his post and walked off into Afghanistan. He was soon picked up by the Taliban and possibly held captive by them for a number of years. I say possibly because there is some speculation that he was there willingly. The US negotiated for his release several times, and finally brokered a deal to trade him for 5 Taliban soldiers held in Guantanamo Bay.
There is several reasons this deal caused controversy. First, was the fact that Bergdahl wasn't captured. He deserted his post. Then, there is some suspicion that he aided the Taliban with information while they attacked US military. Many people are blaming him for military men and women killed while searching for Bergdahl, and for lives lost while he was captured due to the information he gave the Taliban. Also, people were mad about us giving up possibly dangerous Taliban soldiers for a deserter.
I can certainly see why there are some pissed off people about this. Losing good solders for a deserter is a hard price to pay. There is also the potential loses. Will those 5 Taliban solders we released enable more military deaths? Did the information Bergdahl give them during his imprisonment(?) cause other deaths? Now that the Taliban is emboldened by getting their way in this deal, will they try and capture more military to get these sweetheart deals?
I totally understand the reasoning behind the "fuck that guy" crowd. It's actually difficult for me to disagree with them. But, stepping back and seeing what we are really asking for here changes things for me. Do I want the Obama administration, Congress, or any of the rest of those clowns to be the judge and jury for a military man? If I was captured out in Afghanistan, do I want to sit and wonder if the US is going to come for me? I did get in trouble with those Army girls. Is that gonna take me off the "servicemen we will put in an effort to save" list? Where is that line drawn, and do I trust the people in charge of drawing it?
So no, I do not want to give Obama the power to effectively execute a serviceman. The Taliban should not even be given the honor of executing our traitors. I totally support bringing Bergdahl home. Our government should not be allowed to make that call for my brothers and sisters out there. The only thing they should be allowed to do is use all of our country's resources to bring them home. Sure, we may just end up hanging them for treason when they get back. But that is our business, and up to a jury of his peers to decide. Not Obama, not Congress, and not the Taliban.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
They are not heroes!
A friend of mine sent me a link to a Facebook group that, if I remember correctly, was called "Soldiers are not heroes, they are tools of war" (I believe this page specifically). It's goal was pretty much what you would expect. They believed that military folks did not deserve the special recognition they got, and they were willing participants in an unjust and immoral war.
The page admin was pretty ignorant and useless to talk to. But there was members of the page that I managed to lasso into conversations. As with just about any group, there is a solid foundation of fact to what they are complaining about, and some wonderful people to talk to. I do agree with their group that the US has a terrible history of sending the military and other groups to perform actions that are not in accordance with the ideals of the country. We preach about how countries should be a democracy so the people can have a voice, then overthrow democratically elected leaders because we are not happy with the situation. We talk against dictatorships, then assist dictatorships in putting down revolutionary movements and enable them to continue torturing their population. Many of the actions of the US fly in the face of our mythology we try and sell. And it often comes right back around to bite us in the ass. Many of the groups campaigning against the US are ones we put together and armed. Putting our ideals to the side seems to always punish us, but oh well. The president who made that decision is long gone and fully unaccountable by the time we have to pay the tab on those actions.
So if the debate is if the USA government is doing a disservice to their citizens, you won't find an argument out of me. But this was not the argument that they have taken up. They are directing their anger to servicemen and women who have volunteered for service, and this changes the game significantly.
They are correct that the force is completely volunteer right now, so no one is being forced into service. People are deciding to join. But I don't think they have taken the full situation into account when they decide that makes military members accountable for the unjust ways they are used. The average age of a USMC recruit is 19 years old. If everything these people believed was true what they are saying is that a 19 year old, fresh out of high school and with all of the experience of living with his mom and working a minimum wage job, is completely at fault for being hoodwinked by a multi-trillion dollar professional organization like the US military. Because s/he was unable to see through the veil of a organization that the ENTIRE COUNTRY has not been able to get a consensus against makes that teenager a horrible, atrocity enabling murderer. The logic behind not seeing that military recruit as another victim of a system too powerful for all of us to voting citizens to get a handle on just doesn't make sense to me.
Another argument is that they are not heroes. The military people who have been killed/injured did not do it protecting the USA or their freedoms. They did it enabling the military industrial complex and other rich people. Again, I don't think that is a fair comparison. If a family member truly believed your life was in danger, and sacrificed their own to protect you, would you believe they were just an idiot that died for nothing? Or would you respect the fact that they did what they did to defend you when they truly thought you were in danger? Because that is the story that 19 year old believes. That his friends, family, fellow citizens are in danger, and by putting his life on the line he can protect you. Even if you are 100% right and where he ends up dying had nothing to do with your protection, should your anger be directed at him? Or at the people who fooled him and the majority of the country?
Don't get me wrong. Servicemen and women join for many different reasons, and not all of them are as angelic as the example I used. But a healthy percentage of military folks believe they are doing exactly that. I don't find that sacrifice all for nothing.
In all honesty, I don't find servicemen any more accountable for the atrocities our government commits than the rest of us citizens. Sure, I guess theoretically if nobody joins than they wouldn't have a sword to weird to commit these crimes (though, the issues with us not having a military might outweigh that, and I doubt the powers that be would let the military get so understaffed without kicking off a draft). But also, if all of us Americans could get our crap together and properly manage our government, we wouldn't have to worry about how that sword is wielded. That 19 year old would be able to join without being thrown to the wolves like he is now. Maybe we need to remember the myth we tell in our anthem, that this is the home of the brave. We need to stop allowing our government to take our rights and abuse our troops because we are scared and let the sales pitch of America actually match the reality.
The page admin was pretty ignorant and useless to talk to. But there was members of the page that I managed to lasso into conversations. As with just about any group, there is a solid foundation of fact to what they are complaining about, and some wonderful people to talk to. I do agree with their group that the US has a terrible history of sending the military and other groups to perform actions that are not in accordance with the ideals of the country. We preach about how countries should be a democracy so the people can have a voice, then overthrow democratically elected leaders because we are not happy with the situation. We talk against dictatorships, then assist dictatorships in putting down revolutionary movements and enable them to continue torturing their population. Many of the actions of the US fly in the face of our mythology we try and sell. And it often comes right back around to bite us in the ass. Many of the groups campaigning against the US are ones we put together and armed. Putting our ideals to the side seems to always punish us, but oh well. The president who made that decision is long gone and fully unaccountable by the time we have to pay the tab on those actions.
So if the debate is if the USA government is doing a disservice to their citizens, you won't find an argument out of me. But this was not the argument that they have taken up. They are directing their anger to servicemen and women who have volunteered for service, and this changes the game significantly.
They are correct that the force is completely volunteer right now, so no one is being forced into service. People are deciding to join. But I don't think they have taken the full situation into account when they decide that makes military members accountable for the unjust ways they are used. The average age of a USMC recruit is 19 years old. If everything these people believed was true what they are saying is that a 19 year old, fresh out of high school and with all of the experience of living with his mom and working a minimum wage job, is completely at fault for being hoodwinked by a multi-trillion dollar professional organization like the US military. Because s/he was unable to see through the veil of a organization that the ENTIRE COUNTRY has not been able to get a consensus against makes that teenager a horrible, atrocity enabling murderer. The logic behind not seeing that military recruit as another victim of a system too powerful for all of us to voting citizens to get a handle on just doesn't make sense to me.
Another argument is that they are not heroes. The military people who have been killed/injured did not do it protecting the USA or their freedoms. They did it enabling the military industrial complex and other rich people. Again, I don't think that is a fair comparison. If a family member truly believed your life was in danger, and sacrificed their own to protect you, would you believe they were just an idiot that died for nothing? Or would you respect the fact that they did what they did to defend you when they truly thought you were in danger? Because that is the story that 19 year old believes. That his friends, family, fellow citizens are in danger, and by putting his life on the line he can protect you. Even if you are 100% right and where he ends up dying had nothing to do with your protection, should your anger be directed at him? Or at the people who fooled him and the majority of the country?
Don't get me wrong. Servicemen and women join for many different reasons, and not all of them are as angelic as the example I used. But a healthy percentage of military folks believe they are doing exactly that. I don't find that sacrifice all for nothing.
In all honesty, I don't find servicemen any more accountable for the atrocities our government commits than the rest of us citizens. Sure, I guess theoretically if nobody joins than they wouldn't have a sword to weird to commit these crimes (though, the issues with us not having a military might outweigh that, and I doubt the powers that be would let the military get so understaffed without kicking off a draft). But also, if all of us Americans could get our crap together and properly manage our government, we wouldn't have to worry about how that sword is wielded. That 19 year old would be able to join without being thrown to the wolves like he is now. Maybe we need to remember the myth we tell in our anthem, that this is the home of the brave. We need to stop allowing our government to take our rights and abuse our troops because we are scared and let the sales pitch of America actually match the reality.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
The Right Thing, or The Right Thing
On this episode of Dare To Disagree, Puppet Master and I got into an argument that made me think afterwards. His point in the show was that people growing up in the ghetto that turn to crime are 100% liable for their decision to become a criminal. I actually agree with that, but that brings up something that I have thought before.
I do agree with Puppet Master that people in the ghetto have the ability to leave where they are at without turning to crime. And a lot of the reasoning for why they don't take the benefits allotted to them are not quite acceptable. Poor role models. Parents that do not encourage children to better themselves. Committing crimes are easier in the short run. Adults that give up on the next generation, who in turn learns to give up on their next generation, and so on in a vicious cycle.
It is not really fair to pressure the parts of society that is not entangled in that cycle to invest and work to change it. Holding them responsible to help fix that situation is certainly not fair.
But that is where the trap for all of us comes into play. If we don't take responsibility for that situation, and pay the costs associated with fixing it, it will likely never be fixed. If we take on that burden of changing the mindset of people who live in these ghettos, the investment will pay off significantly in future generations. We just have to be the ones to break the cycle. Make one generation of those people successful and they will teach the next and so on. It will continue down the line and the country will be safer for all of us.
This problem in these ghettos are like someone throwing a cigarette out of a window and starting a forest fire. Yes, the right thing would be waiting on that person to come put out the fire they started. But while we wait, the forest burns down. What we need to do is put out this fire that has been burning for decades. No, it isn't our fault and it isn't really our responsibility. But if we don't put it out no one will. And we get to watch these blaze go and possibly burn down our house.
In my opinion, it would only take fixing one generation to repair 90%+ of the issue. If we could lift up this upcoming generation, give them the skills to succeed and the drive to do so, the problems will die. They will teach their children, who will teach their children, and so on. That sounds simple, but it is a huge and difficult endeavor and one we may never benefit from. But our kids will, and their kids will, and the world will.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in"
I do agree with Puppet Master that people in the ghetto have the ability to leave where they are at without turning to crime. And a lot of the reasoning for why they don't take the benefits allotted to them are not quite acceptable. Poor role models. Parents that do not encourage children to better themselves. Committing crimes are easier in the short run. Adults that give up on the next generation, who in turn learns to give up on their next generation, and so on in a vicious cycle.
It is not really fair to pressure the parts of society that is not entangled in that cycle to invest and work to change it. Holding them responsible to help fix that situation is certainly not fair.
But that is where the trap for all of us comes into play. If we don't take responsibility for that situation, and pay the costs associated with fixing it, it will likely never be fixed. If we take on that burden of changing the mindset of people who live in these ghettos, the investment will pay off significantly in future generations. We just have to be the ones to break the cycle. Make one generation of those people successful and they will teach the next and so on. It will continue down the line and the country will be safer for all of us.
This problem in these ghettos are like someone throwing a cigarette out of a window and starting a forest fire. Yes, the right thing would be waiting on that person to come put out the fire they started. But while we wait, the forest burns down. What we need to do is put out this fire that has been burning for decades. No, it isn't our fault and it isn't really our responsibility. But if we don't put it out no one will. And we get to watch these blaze go and possibly burn down our house.
In my opinion, it would only take fixing one generation to repair 90%+ of the issue. If we could lift up this upcoming generation, give them the skills to succeed and the drive to do so, the problems will die. They will teach their children, who will teach their children, and so on. That sounds simple, but it is a huge and difficult endeavor and one we may never benefit from. But our kids will, and their kids will, and the world will.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in"
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Fashionable Nooses
Last time things got a little heavy, so I wanted to go lighter hearted this time. Too much real talk in your life is bad for the blood pressure.
I am no expert on fashion, as my wife who lays out my clothes in the morning can tell you. During the days I am forced to dress my daughter there is usually women looking in horror/sympathy at her when we go out. But, probably due to the similarities to military uniforms, I can put together a suit like no one's business. And there is little that makes a man feel better than being decked out in a nice suit.
But this brings me to the part of the suit I hate the most. The tie. The reason I hate it isn't merely because of the discomfort it causes. Or the safety risk it brings about. Or how it pretty much ensures if someone wants to hang me, they won't even have to bring their own rope. The entire idea of a tie I am against.
Ties were originally created to hold the top of your jacket closed back in the 17th century. They were quickly made obsolete as men decided maybe they can figure out a better way to accomplish that than tying a noose around their damn neck. That means ties have been obsolete for hundreds of years, and yet in 2014 you still can't go to a Macy's without seeing a couple dozen different designs on a rack.
What else does a man wear that has no function? Shirt, pants, jacket, all required parts of the suit. A leather belt to hold the pants in place. A watch to tell time. Shoes to protect the feet. Socks to make the shoes comfortable. Everything has a purpose. Sure, some of those items my have a whole lot more form than function. But even a diamond encrusted, gold plated watch still tells the damn time!
Women wear things that are non functional. I am not going to knock them, they are on a completely different thing than a man is. It drives me crazy when my wife has to give me all her stuff because her pockets are fake. If I pick up a suit jacket with fake pockets, I put it back on the rack and try and tuck it back where no other man can make the mistake of picking it up. We are men, we are built for functionality. Our dress should match it.
Beyond my disagreement with the idea of a tie, the implementation is terrible too. I am almost literally tying a noose around my neck. If I get in an altercation, I am at an immediate disadvantage as I just made it incredibly easy for my opponent to control my head and cut off my air supply. My tie is completely on their side against me. Plus, trying to do anything with a tie on is constantly having it in the way. Bend over to write something? You have a tie in the middle of your pad. Reach to grab your drink and you have $40 in silk soaking up your cocktail. There is no redeeming factors for this.
Please everyone. Lets team up and kill this thing once and for all. A couple hundred years with no purpose is too long. Ties are long needed to be put to rest, and that silk can be used for much more important things. Like making lingerie!
I am no expert on fashion, as my wife who lays out my clothes in the morning can tell you. During the days I am forced to dress my daughter there is usually women looking in horror/sympathy at her when we go out. But, probably due to the similarities to military uniforms, I can put together a suit like no one's business. And there is little that makes a man feel better than being decked out in a nice suit.
But this brings me to the part of the suit I hate the most. The tie. The reason I hate it isn't merely because of the discomfort it causes. Or the safety risk it brings about. Or how it pretty much ensures if someone wants to hang me, they won't even have to bring their own rope. The entire idea of a tie I am against.
Ties were originally created to hold the top of your jacket closed back in the 17th century. They were quickly made obsolete as men decided maybe they can figure out a better way to accomplish that than tying a noose around their damn neck. That means ties have been obsolete for hundreds of years, and yet in 2014 you still can't go to a Macy's without seeing a couple dozen different designs on a rack.
What else does a man wear that has no function? Shirt, pants, jacket, all required parts of the suit. A leather belt to hold the pants in place. A watch to tell time. Shoes to protect the feet. Socks to make the shoes comfortable. Everything has a purpose. Sure, some of those items my have a whole lot more form than function. But even a diamond encrusted, gold plated watch still tells the damn time!
Women wear things that are non functional. I am not going to knock them, they are on a completely different thing than a man is. It drives me crazy when my wife has to give me all her stuff because her pockets are fake. If I pick up a suit jacket with fake pockets, I put it back on the rack and try and tuck it back where no other man can make the mistake of picking it up. We are men, we are built for functionality. Our dress should match it.
Beyond my disagreement with the idea of a tie, the implementation is terrible too. I am almost literally tying a noose around my neck. If I get in an altercation, I am at an immediate disadvantage as I just made it incredibly easy for my opponent to control my head and cut off my air supply. My tie is completely on their side against me. Plus, trying to do anything with a tie on is constantly having it in the way. Bend over to write something? You have a tie in the middle of your pad. Reach to grab your drink and you have $40 in silk soaking up your cocktail. There is no redeeming factors for this.
Please everyone. Lets team up and kill this thing once and for all. A couple hundred years with no purpose is too long. Ties are long needed to be put to rest, and that silk can be used for much more important things. Like making lingerie!
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