reply to post by Hoosyourdaddyo
This message is for all of you, regardless of the uniform you wear and the means by which you are serving your community. Wether you are a
soldier, Marine, Sailor, Police Officer, EMT or Fire Fighter, I want you to read and understand this message.
Roger that, standing by.
First, for those of you who serve with honor and valor, I salute you and thank you for your service. I know many of you have sacraficed much
for us, and this does not go unnoticed.
Unnoticed, perhaps not. Undefined - it still is.
For those of you who use your uniform as a shield, and as an excuse to excercise brutality and control, I say shame on you. You are a disgrace
to the uniform you wear, the people you serve (that's right, you serve your community) and the constitution you have sworn to uphold and
protect.
Sheesh - I only got the military discount because I was telling the lady at the register why I was getting a hair cut and being specific about how it
was blended.
You know who you are, and you know you will get what you deserve soon enough.
It's my experience that this type of statement is a sort of "catch all." "People in this crowd have made me angry! You know who you are, and
when I lash out and attack you, you know that you deserved it!" It's just an excuse to haul off and make wild accusations and baseless attacks on
people - "I've warned them!"
I want all of you to look at yourself, next time you are wearing your uniform, and ask yourself the following questions:
Will-do.
1. Am I serving my community/country to the best of my ability?
Kind of a loaded question. I do my job in the Navy to the best of my ability. Though I get the feeling you're going to try and twist this into what
our jobs SHOULD be - which is a policy issue, not an issue of personal duty.
2. Are my behaviours in line with the United States Constitution?
Are we including amendments following the first ten, laws of congress, and presidential acts as they stand, or are we going on the pretense that any
controversial law, act, or amendment and interpretations thereof are considered void?
I have my own views on how the country should work, and on what acts/laws/amendments should have never been - but that doesn't allow me to simply say
they aren't.
Again - we have to clarify this issue before this question can be answered with any kind of relevance.
But, yes - I keep my actions within what is allowed under the constitution and the powers it grants our branches of government.
3. Are my orders in line with the United States Consitution?
See Question 2.
4. Are my leaders acting in the best interest of my community/country?
This is a dangerous line of thinking. The military comprises between 1 and 2 million personnel by time you throw in the Reserves and National Guard.
That's less than 1% of the population (really, about 0.3% of it). Among us, there are plenty of differing views - though the vast majority tend to
be conservatively principled.
What we believe is in the best interest of our country may seriously conflict with what popular polls indicate is the desire (and believed
best-interest) of the country.
Expecting us to be the arbitrators of our own opinions while in effective control of weapons capable of leveling cities is not exactly the wisest
thing to do.
5. Do I deserve to be thanked for my service? Or am I a symbol of what is going wrong with this Nation?
I'm a reservist - it's not like I am some kind of hero - sung or unsung. I don't really expect to receive thanks or really consider it a relevant
consideration. Military service isn't a popularity contest. I'm glad to have the thanks when I get them - but I don't try and think in terms of
"what kinds of kudos will I get for wearing my uniform around!?"
As far as what is going wrong in the country - everyone has a slightly different opinion of what is wrong. I can tell you plain-as-day what is wrong
- we are no longer a union of states. We're a single state. The system is far too large and incapable of addressing the needs of different people
with different ways of life, incomes, and concerns.
You seem to think the 'police state' is imminent and something to worry about. You've simply lost the forest for the trees.
You alone are going to make the change needed to make this nation great once again.
Because, you know, every time police and military forces have collectively usurped a civilian government - it's been a step in the right
direction.
This nation is not about a flag, a national anthom and mindless chants of U....S....A! This is a nation that was founded by men of vision and
principals, who wanted a place where a person could have freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of speech, yet we are now
watching as our "leaders" are continually attacking those very same freedoms, and using you, our uniformed services as the enforcers of these
unconstitutional changes.
You really don't get out much, do you?
We need you to stand up and be counted among the brave citizens who will take their oath to support and uphold our constitution seriously, and
will say no to those who order you to violate that oath.
Pick your battles wisely.
For example - let's say I'm told to go investigate a kid for making threats on a forum about bringing some kind of harm against the President. I
raise hell, say no, and call it unconstitutional. A record of the failure to follow an order is documented in my record and someone else is
tasked.
Lose.
Or - I take it upon myself to investigate the situation and be as reasonable as possible while being as -personally- considerate of the individuals'
rights as possible. I can't do anything about whatever "illegal" searches brought about the order for me to investigate.
Not a loss - not really a "win" - either.
'Bucking' the system is a calculated risk.
Now, let's say large portions of the reserves were mobilized in preparation to invade a state that decided to secede from the union (a rather
plausible future scenario) and usurp its local government.
My actions, then, would depend largely upon my area of influence. If I had a lot - I would push for a force-wide stand-down while calling for an
emergency convention of state governments to address the current issue. That presumes I have a hell of a lot of pull. Not exactly implausible,
either - I've made rank in a locked-up rating consistently - Master Chief (with candidacy for a Command or Force position) is certainly within my
career potential. So is running for a commission and competing within the officer ranks. Either active duty or reserve.
The point is - there are types of orders that are clearly in violation of the constitution and do not represent a reasonable measure taken for defense
purposes. There are orders that amount to wastes of tax-payer dollars and man-hours (investigating kids making threats on internet forums) - and
there are ones that seriously jeopardize the rights and well-being of the nation (launching an invasion of a seceding state would invariably lead to
an open civil war that would rack up a hell of a body count and throw the entire concept of civil rights and our founding principles into chaos).
Debating issues like the Patriot Act and whether or not some guys showing up in suits to interview people constitutes rights violations is simply not
something the people in uniform should be concerned about. They simply need to conduct themselves accordingly while undertaking those orders (which
should be debated at a policy level rather than within the chain of command). Now, blatant orders like "seize all personal firearms" should be
returned to the issuing authority via arrow-scroll to the heart - but the likelihood of that is low, barring extreme circumstances following natural
disasters where derelict buildings are raided by gangs and criminals for weapons (yes, been there, settled that debate).
Say no to the bankers, who are stealing your pensions and insurance policies.
My bank account is doing just fine. What I really wish is that you idiots would stop taking out loans and racking up credit card debts to the tune of
2.5 times your total annual net income. That's the reason you see the concentration of wealth as you do - because the average person is financially
insolvent and indebted to the point of living in what can only be described as slavery.
It came about because people started looking at the extra $50 left over in their pay-check as a $1200 computer on a 36-month payment plan.
And it's not like you all have not had the opportunity to disband the Federal Reserve and put the FDIC in check - or the warning that such an unholy
alliance would cause troubles.
Say no to the politicians who send you into illegal wars in pursuit of goals their paymasters have given them.
It's not our job to determine whether or not a war with a foreign nation is illegal. That's the job of the officials you elect. Unless you want us
to make elections irrelevant (as we'll just do what we think is right, anyway) - then I suggest you shoulder your own yoke.
Say no to the people who are tyring to make the United States into a reconstituted Soviet/Nazi empire using the very same techniques and
measures those evil people used to control their people.
The sad thing is that America has been doing this to itself. You want to try and marginalize the effort and pin it upon "the politicians." There
is no unified voice within America - there is no "the people" - there are 'these people' and 'those people' with 'other people' - each group
has its own distinct way of life, ideals, and expectations of the government.
As you sit there and condemn the wars in Iraq - others cheer. As you sit there and claim it's for oil - others point out that we don't really get
any from Iraq (nor do our "corporate task masters"). We turned this union of states into a single state long ago - decades upon decades before I
was born - and now most of the people who brought the most significant of those changes about are dead and gone while their human legacy suffers the
consequences of their political monstrosity.
I pray that you read my message and take it seriously. It is up to you to make the change happen.
No, my friend. It is up to you.
For me to stand up with a rifle and say: "this is the way we are going to do things from now on" is no different than a dictator commanding an army
to execute his will upon the population. There are times when such intervention is necessary - but it is in such extreme cases - and only as a final
gamble to prevent the onset of what could only be described as a catastrophe.
The military, police, etc are not going to be able to fix the problems and vanquish the demons that the civilian population created many decades ago.
You may feel you've washed your hands of the issue - but your sentiments and attitude only serve to deny the truth that lie behind the matter.