Checking my premises
I was unsure as to whether I would title this, "Unlearning what I have learned" or "Checking my premises", because in it, I have done both. A couple of recent posts by AmericanGreatness and Eudaimonia, along with a couple of posts from 1-2 weeks ago are relevant.
I have long thought that the US military was an agent for liberation from totalitarian regimes. Now should I think they are mere pawns of their political masters, most often performing altruism to societies that do not appreciate their presence?
I had long thought that having a strong military meant having a strong national defense. After seeing 67 out of 70 purposeful attempts by TSA employees to evade TSA screening in a "test" of TSA security, I know differently. Moreover, the strong military and even the border agents were unable to protect us from an invasion of illegal immigrants because the one holding the leash kept the military and border agents on so tight a leash that they were unable to do what used to be their job.
I had long thought (because I had thought that the US military was an agent for liberation from totalitarian regimes) that the US had the "moral high ground". I still think that abortion is not the best moral decision and have been criticized (perhaps rightly) within the Gulch for that opinion. Moreover, I see a commentator (sorry, but I forget whom) on FoxNews suggest that America has lost the "moral high ground" in light of the Planned Parenthood situation (The commentator said that Muslims must consider us barbarous for having so many abortions. The term barbarous ironically is derived from the Barbary Pirates in Libya.).
I'm just checking my premises.
I have long thought that the US military was an agent for liberation from totalitarian regimes. Now should I think they are mere pawns of their political masters, most often performing altruism to societies that do not appreciate their presence?
I had long thought that having a strong military meant having a strong national defense. After seeing 67 out of 70 purposeful attempts by TSA employees to evade TSA screening in a "test" of TSA security, I know differently. Moreover, the strong military and even the border agents were unable to protect us from an invasion of illegal immigrants because the one holding the leash kept the military and border agents on so tight a leash that they were unable to do what used to be their job.
I had long thought (because I had thought that the US military was an agent for liberation from totalitarian regimes) that the US had the "moral high ground". I still think that abortion is not the best moral decision and have been criticized (perhaps rightly) within the Gulch for that opinion. Moreover, I see a commentator (sorry, but I forget whom) on FoxNews suggest that America has lost the "moral high ground" in light of the Planned Parenthood situation (The commentator said that Muslims must consider us barbarous for having so many abortions. The term barbarous ironically is derived from the Barbary Pirates in Libya.).
I'm just checking my premises.
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Regarding the mixed philosophical premises, you are not the first to say so about my premises. I have been moving more toward Objectivism, but am not totally there yet. I am not, and have never been, in favor of using the military to achieve any of the objectives associated with all wars since World War 2. For the US to survive, the military must be cut substantially, along with all federal spending, because the two greatest threats to US security are financial and from computer hacking (or both simultaneously).
The War of 1812 is one of my favorite historical subjects. Andrew Jackson proved his worth then, and when he took on Nicholas Biddle to eliminate a precursor to the Federal Reserve. Andrew Jackson is the only Democrat in the last 200 years I would have supported.
The more basic problem- your premises - is that a mixed economy is not an isolated structure, but a consequence of mixed philosophical premises. You cite the military. I could cite the police. We all could go on and on about the courts. But "army, police, and courts of law" remain the essential functions of a republic, based on the principles of Objectivism.
There is no easy answer. That is why Ayn Rand said that it is moral to take a job with the government if the government is doing something that would be proper in a purely capitalist system. I think she mentioned teaching the piano.
Just a note: Barbarian comes from "ba-ba" the sound of the foreign language to Greek ears. From that "barber" refers to their long beards and hair. The Romans went back and forth on cropping close and letting it grow. Contrast portraits of Hadrian with Septimus Severus with Gordian I. "The Barbary Coast" also referred to San Francisco's red light district: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary...