Liberty, Military Service, and Objectivism
Posted by xthinker88 8 years, 5 months ago to Government
"This is my inaugural blog post as the Liberty Pirate and it is Veteran’s Day 2015. I am an Army infantry veteran. And those that know that fact about me are likely to thank me “for my service” today. I am likely to say, “you’re welcome”. And that is the polite thing to do. However, it might come as a shock to know I did not serve you in any way. Furthermore, had I lost my life, it would not have been a sacrifice on your behalf."
BTW - this is my new blog. www.thelibertypirate.com. And this is the inaugural post. Hope to have more up this weekend and then 1-2 per week.
BTW - this is my new blog. www.thelibertypirate.com. And this is the inaugural post. Hope to have more up this weekend and then 1-2 per week.
I also did not think of my service as a sacrifice.
Beautifully stated.
I would be interested if you feel like elaborating further.
Jan
I also think this unthinking patriotism is a response to how Vietnam Vets were treated.
It is also a way to keep up the political support for the Military, which is republican welfare system.
A shameful process that continues still, although less overtly. For example Janet Napolitano as head of Homeland Security labelling vets as future domestic terrorists waiting for the right provocation. Disgusting and enraging to all vets, regardless of age.
In any case its a heck of a lot of people to piss off at once.
Sacrifice is part of life, those who believe they can go without doing so usually depend on someone elses sacrifice, therefore they exploit it. It´s sad that people should have to go off to war, in foreign lands, and sent by others who; believe or not; aren´t the Commander In Chief or any visible figure that will take the fall should things get ugly. Usually, we end up in quarrels that aren´t even ours to begin with, "in the name of Liberty and Justice for All". It used to be "in the Name of God", but after Five Hundred Years we finally put a lid on that (well, most of us anyway).
I cherish Ayn Rand and her vission on things. Especially her attack on mediocrity, which we all share here I suppose. Yet I go further by saying that, appart from an Absolute Truth; there is also an Absolute Evil. And that evil resides in us all, it´s not an entity onto its own. It´s a conflict within that can clearly distort our premises, should we lack a "Moral Compass".
Morality, so to speak; is a rare thing altogether. One might argue that it´s also relative, and depends on our upbringing and culture. For an Islamic Fundamentalist, a suicide bombing is the highest level of dignity in serving Alah. For a Nipon Citizen, suicide is also something similar in order to conserve honor. Yet I believe there is a Higher Moral than that, which goes beyond our own selves.
To me, a Righteous Person is one that builds something; that develops a true contribution to the chain of events that is mankind. Therefore, one could say Einstein, Mozart, da Vinci, Jesus, Aristotle, etc are Moral Beings. Yet Morality can too be misleading, and used to destroy. Those are the other kind of geniuses, such as Hitler, Franco, Constantine, etc.
In conclusion, it is imperative to always think. The more, the better. If you ask me "am I an Objectivist" I´d probably say "I am a Satanist", in the ethymological sense of the word Satan, which doesn´t mean Demon, but Opposer. And, today; the maximum ast of Satantry is to be a Peacefull Man. (sorry for all the mispelled words, I´m bilingual yet I seldom write in english nowadays)
Hmmm...may try, "I am a Satanist." sometime (amongst my liberal friends) just to watch them laugh when I explain.
I wish I spoke Spanish as eloquently as you do English.
Jan
In depth discussion article
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Islam/Isla...
Forbidden is suicide by the individual or causing death of innocent people by their actions.
The references are many and all agree.
Those who commit suicide are barred from Paradise. Martyrdom is something else and I could find nothing that allowed suicide to be termed martyrdom. Especially where innocents were involved and that is not restricted to innocent muslims.
Suicide is a very complex subject. Today, it´s been categorized as being part of a sickness, but that´s if your into psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
As for the term at hand, the Koran is an old book, as is the Bible. It isn´t rare that many use certain passages to control and get people to do things blindly. I´m sure, as the bible itself, that it´s full of contradictions also.
clarity of sight and thought!!! . I always get hung up on the
statement, "I would rather die fighting than live as a slave."
I tend to agree, yet living as a slave offers a chance
for escape. . our economy and regulatory cage is a form of
slavery, IMHO, and we are obliged to seek a way to escape
or else we're settling in as slaves for the long haul.
that is the condition which I would rather die fighting
than accept. -- j
.
As a veteran myself, Navy, I find that you expressed what I have felt for many years. I thank you for that and thanks, not for your service, but for words to my thoughts.
You did not personally do that to me.
To blame some individual, I have Nixon, who with a photo of his smiling face, wrote, "Congratulations, you have been inducted into the armed services."
I did not believe in the domino theory reasoning behind the Vietnam War and neither did my father, who tried to enlist right after Pearly Harbor. The government thought he was more valuable doing something else, which included the production of the Corsair fighter plane.
I was born at the wrong time. 9/.11 was Pearl Harbor enough for me. But I was too old.
Good luck I'll be following the blog. Nice to hear some honesty besides my own.
Altruism is a choice of the moment, not a virtue to be sought.
ling to risk one's life, rather than to live as a slave.
It does not mean that man is to live as a slave to
the collective, whether it be the family, the race, the economic class, or the nation.
Jan
As to sacrifice, xthinker has it right. My goal was to always follow General Patton's admonition: "I don't want you to die for your country, I want you to make those other bastards die for theirs.!"
The draft was a bunch of rich old men making poor young men give up a significant (if not all) of their lives to make the rich richer.
At these prices, the only volunteers were those of us who wanted to avoid the Army. My point is that the government got very cheap labor from young men while defense contractors made huge profits.
After I was commissioned I was a contracting officer - one of the people who bought $400 hammers if you will. Working for DOD as a contractor is a no lose proposition for those companies. The only competition is who can buy the best congress people so the contract comes your way.
So, your comment is puzzling to me as I'm not sure how you figure an Axis win would improve the lot of the poor? War only benefits "bullet makers" as far as I can see????
I just did a brief internet search on the question, but not found any data discussing the hypothetical "Would there have been enough volunteers in the US to defeat both Germany and Japan in WWII without the draft?" Do you have any good sources that discuss this?
Jan
Not everyone volunteered. Roosevelt suspended all civil rights such as they were in those days.
He was a good wartime leader but he set the tone and the stage that it is all right to suspend morals, values, and standards including those suposedly set in stone in the constitution for the exigencies of the moment. That now means we give up our rights and replace them with TSA and a protective echelon only means the terrorists foreign and domestic won the battle and the war.
That's your key points 9/11 was fourteen years ago. The war was declared won. Why are 320 million citizens still serving a sentence without benefit of trial, jury or legal assistance fourteen years later?
Back to WWII there were so many volunteers they used the draft system to process them into the military. I would guess the answer is yes there were enough but their status changed using that system instead of listing them as Regulars.
It's a shame that war is still in progress and the fight against fascism continues.
You come from a good family.
Jan
I agree that the draft is an abomination.
Jan
https://www.galtsgulchonline.com/post...
An Objectivist is not an uncaring island, and when he does something in his own self interest, he usually tries to make sure that undeserved harm doesn't come to others in the process. It's pretty hard to take a stand for honorable principles and not benefit others, whether they realize it or not.
I think the sloppiness is intentional because of the situation I did not address - one where the nation sends its soldiers to a war where they are not defending the liberty of the nation. It is in the state's best interests to keep these terms sloppy and emotional lest it end up with a set of free citizens who make value judgments every time the state wants to go to war. This type of sloppy language allows them to indoctrinate people into being willing to risk their lives for values which, if they were to sit back and reflect rationally, they would not value higher than their own life.