I am writing this article on Memorial Day (May 29), a holiday set aside to honor military personal who have died, ostensibly while “defending our freedom.”
“...makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
....For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot...”
My perspective is quite different from yours, having seen fellow Americans loaded onto aircraft, on their way back to the US... knowing that “that could be me” next week - and I had nine months left on my deployment... and I was not just responsible for myself, but also for the lives of others.
I matriculated at what was once known as North Georgia College, where, near the center of campus, there is a large granite monument on which the names of former students and alumni who have died while serving in the military are indelibly sandblasted. The school still has a solemn ceremony there every Spring, and I was present, as a cadet, when it erected, in 1983. Now, the names of people I knew personally are on that monument.
I guess that a day of “quiet reflection” - without bullshit politics - just remembering “absent friends” (and neighbors) is asking too much of you.
Oh how I wish you and I could sit out under a shade tree with a cooler full of beer and discuss this.
Sorry, but politics IS an integral part of any discussion on military and foreign policy. Yes it hurts when friends, colleagues, and kinfolk get killed, but the politicians (and top brass) are the guilty parties here, for sending them off to faraway lands, ostensibly to "defend our freedom". And out-of-control government is still the biggest threat to our freedom.
Hey if you want to continue this conversation, let's take it to email: dmw0214@live.com
I really don’t give a flying copulation to read what some coward spews - someone who never deployed overseas to get shot at, rocketed, mortared or IEDed; someone who has never been to a ramp ceremony to see his fellow service members loaded onto aircraft for return to the US. You can’t keep your stupid ass comments to yourself? Screw you.
I knew this bit would draw some heat, but I also know some share David's views and figured that it could invite discussion (and I'm not averse to sharing a variety of opinions here). I will leave it to David to respond/defend his piece.
Meet my former roommate from my time in the 27th Engineer BN (Combat) (Airborne), SSG Michael Harris, Jr. Mike was killed because his idiot “leadership” took “shortcuts” while disposing cluster bombs.
This piece is beneath your standard - ROL is your substack and he's your guest. I've previously enjoyed his postings (he was getting MUCH better with time), but this piece fails on every level. It presumes you either "worship" the military or legitimately distrust it - that's strawman arguing, ad hominem, false dichotomy and generalizing. It presumes you either accept David's standard for what constitutes a death worthy of memorializing - or you're a "military worshipping" fascist, another false dichotomy. And it makes libertarians look like uncivil barbarians. One can throw stones at the massive military industrial complex, the militarization of our civilian law enforcement agencies, the legitimacy of wars fought - without questioning the dignity and respect of the tiny fraction of 1 percent of those who raised their right hand and took an oath, let alone the even tinier fraction of those who paid the ultimate price for that oath.
I knew this one would engender some hot reactions. I don't mind that, and I don't require that everything posted here be of strict conformity to my own viewpoint. Fact is, there are indeed libertarians who share David's viewpoints (the spectrum of libertarian views on defense is wide), and a little controversy from time to time isn't a bad thing. Not everyone needs to agree with everything posted here, and I haven't wholly agreed with the content I've shared here from guest posters (heck, I don't even agree with some of *my* old posts).
I think there are two discussions to be had here - one on content and one on tone, or at least on perception.
Feel free to have at David as you would at me or anyone else here. That's the way of liberty, and do please keep in mind that this is but one of five hundred posts on this Substack, and nearly 1500 on the original site. You might like tomorrow's a bit better (or you might not, I haven't decided what it's going to be yet).
Dave, I think the real problem is just the common use of "defending freedom and democracy". I don't see a problem with two military holidays. One to honor those who died and one for those who made it out alive. Just take away the politically driven / focus group phrase.
This is a pretty sad example of writing (in style and substance) and will unfortunately be the last of your columns I read. As a conservative of libertarian bent, I appreciate the suspicion against "the military" but this article ignores all distinction between the government apparatus and those citizens who volunteer to take an oath to defend the nation with their lives. One can justifiably rail about the legitimacy of wars and the military we overspend on - but to then take Memorial Day to openly criticize and mock those who went to those wars (and yes, you did go there) has the intellectual heft of a Jane Fonda screed. I don't watch Jane Fonda either.
Your piece was abysmal; seeking to pivot at memorial day' expense, for a stastically questionable (read hard left style gelding of data) grouping, in an almost sardonic style; -20pts for lack of audience awareness.
A shallow undestanding of the meaning of training, and its risks, no grasp of "To serve" or the nature of conflicts that is part/parcel of human warfare; always.
[though you were VERY correct on a few of the manufactured battles, surfacing some old debates]
I'd disagree w/some of the commenters; haven't seen a refinement in your posts, same ruts & views.
This creates fodder for a mail rule to file /no_read any more of the same.
Ditto previous commentators here. Definitely poor timing on this piece David. You have every right to share your opinion on this subject, but choosing this holiday to air your grievances was in poor taste.
I've never served in our military, but I am grateful to everyone who has served or is currently serving, and those who've died defending our great nation. And yes, they are fighting for our freedom. My freedom to go to bed tonight with peace in my heart, knowing that the odds of a terrorist attack here is pretty low. Freedom to go to work tomorrow, knowing that as a woman, no man will come and tell me I can't work, and to just go home. Freedom to say what's on my mind, as long as it doesn't cause physical harm to another person. These are just a few of the freedoms I enjoy today because someone else was willing to put their life on the line for our country. I respect them for that. You on the other hand seem not to, which you've made clear with this piece.
I echo previous commentors as well when I say, this will be the last of your pieces I read
"The government could save $Hundreds of Billions each year, and the lives of countless soldiers, by re-establishing one simple principle: the purpose of the military is to defend Americans ON American soil - period. " As much as you disagree with the forward defense strategy the USA has employed post WWII, I assure you the alternative, fighting here on our land, amongst our civilians, with modern weapons, would leave you far less enthused.
How many of your friends are dead? How many died overseas?
Go perform a physical impossibility.
Mark, thank you for your service, and for your comments. You said it better than I ever could
You are a flaming hunk of excrement.
Hi Mark. I would be curious to know where you disagree.
What was that Kipling said, in his poem, “Tommy?”
“...makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
....For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot...”
My perspective is quite different from yours, having seen fellow Americans loaded onto aircraft, on their way back to the US... knowing that “that could be me” next week - and I had nine months left on my deployment... and I was not just responsible for myself, but also for the lives of others.
I matriculated at what was once known as North Georgia College, where, near the center of campus, there is a large granite monument on which the names of former students and alumni who have died while serving in the military are indelibly sandblasted. The school still has a solemn ceremony there every Spring, and I was present, as a cadet, when it erected, in 1983. Now, the names of people I knew personally are on that monument.
I guess that a day of “quiet reflection” - without bullshit politics - just remembering “absent friends” (and neighbors) is asking too much of you.
Oh how I wish you and I could sit out under a shade tree with a cooler full of beer and discuss this.
Sorry, but politics IS an integral part of any discussion on military and foreign policy. Yes it hurts when friends, colleagues, and kinfolk get killed, but the politicians (and top brass) are the guilty parties here, for sending them off to faraway lands, ostensibly to "defend our freedom". And out-of-control government is still the biggest threat to our freedom.
Hey if you want to continue this conversation, let's take it to email: dmw0214@live.com
1) I don’t drink alcohol. Thanks. 2) My wife is “having a spell” with her heart, and I have animals to tend, in case I have to go quickly to town.
I expect such utter bullshit from Communists, Marxists and other people who hate America, but you, too, oxygen thief?
I really don’t give a flying copulation to read what some coward spews - someone who never deployed overseas to get shot at, rocketed, mortared or IEDed; someone who has never been to a ramp ceremony to see his fellow service members loaded onto aircraft for return to the US. You can’t keep your stupid ass comments to yourself? Screw you.
How is “fighting on our own soil” working out in Ukraine right now for the Ukrainians?
I knew this bit would draw some heat, but I also know some share David's views and figured that it could invite discussion (and I'm not averse to sharing a variety of opinions here). I will leave it to David to respond/defend his piece.
Meet my neighbor, Dan:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23846776/daniel-raymond-bowman
Meet my former roommate from my time in the 27th Engineer BN (Combat) (Airborne), SSG Michael Harris, Jr. Mike was killed because his idiot “leadership” took “shortcuts” while disposing cluster bombs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/magazine/cluster-munitions-history.html
Meet my CAV Squadron XO, Airborne Ranger and fellow North Georgia College grad, Kevin Jenrette:
https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-maj-kevin-m-jenrette/4128497
I guess David thinks that Freedom and Liberty are just “magic” and just somehow “happen.”
This piece is beneath your standard - ROL is your substack and he's your guest. I've previously enjoyed his postings (he was getting MUCH better with time), but this piece fails on every level. It presumes you either "worship" the military or legitimately distrust it - that's strawman arguing, ad hominem, false dichotomy and generalizing. It presumes you either accept David's standard for what constitutes a death worthy of memorializing - or you're a "military worshipping" fascist, another false dichotomy. And it makes libertarians look like uncivil barbarians. One can throw stones at the massive military industrial complex, the militarization of our civilian law enforcement agencies, the legitimacy of wars fought - without questioning the dignity and respect of the tiny fraction of 1 percent of those who raised their right hand and took an oath, let alone the even tinier fraction of those who paid the ultimate price for that oath.
I knew this one would engender some hot reactions. I don't mind that, and I don't require that everything posted here be of strict conformity to my own viewpoint. Fact is, there are indeed libertarians who share David's viewpoints (the spectrum of libertarian views on defense is wide), and a little controversy from time to time isn't a bad thing. Not everyone needs to agree with everything posted here, and I haven't wholly agreed with the content I've shared here from guest posters (heck, I don't even agree with some of *my* old posts).
I think there are two discussions to be had here - one on content and one on tone, or at least on perception.
Feel free to have at David as you would at me or anyone else here. That's the way of liberty, and do please keep in mind that this is but one of five hundred posts on this Substack, and nearly 1500 on the original site. You might like tomorrow's a bit better (or you might not, I haven't decided what it's going to be yet).
And thank you for the feedback - always welcomed.
Dave, I think the real problem is just the common use of "defending freedom and democracy". I don't see a problem with two military holidays. One to honor those who died and one for those who made it out alive. Just take away the politically driven / focus group phrase.
This is a pretty sad example of writing (in style and substance) and will unfortunately be the last of your columns I read. As a conservative of libertarian bent, I appreciate the suspicion against "the military" but this article ignores all distinction between the government apparatus and those citizens who volunteer to take an oath to defend the nation with their lives. One can justifiably rail about the legitimacy of wars and the military we overspend on - but to then take Memorial Day to openly criticize and mock those who went to those wars (and yes, you did go there) has the intellectual heft of a Jane Fonda screed. I don't watch Jane Fonda either.
Your piece was abysmal; seeking to pivot at memorial day' expense, for a stastically questionable (read hard left style gelding of data) grouping, in an almost sardonic style; -20pts for lack of audience awareness.
A shallow undestanding of the meaning of training, and its risks, no grasp of "To serve" or the nature of conflicts that is part/parcel of human warfare; always.
[though you were VERY correct on a few of the manufactured battles, surfacing some old debates]
I'd disagree w/some of the commenters; haven't seen a refinement in your posts, same ruts & views.
This creates fodder for a mail rule to file /no_read any more of the same.
Ditto previous commentators here. Definitely poor timing on this piece David. You have every right to share your opinion on this subject, but choosing this holiday to air your grievances was in poor taste.
I've never served in our military, but I am grateful to everyone who has served or is currently serving, and those who've died defending our great nation. And yes, they are fighting for our freedom. My freedom to go to bed tonight with peace in my heart, knowing that the odds of a terrorist attack here is pretty low. Freedom to go to work tomorrow, knowing that as a woman, no man will come and tell me I can't work, and to just go home. Freedom to say what's on my mind, as long as it doesn't cause physical harm to another person. These are just a few of the freedoms I enjoy today because someone else was willing to put their life on the line for our country. I respect them for that. You on the other hand seem not to, which you've made clear with this piece.
I echo previous commentors as well when I say, this will be the last of your pieces I read
"The government could save $Hundreds of Billions each year, and the lives of countless soldiers, by re-establishing one simple principle: the purpose of the military is to defend Americans ON American soil - period. " As much as you disagree with the forward defense strategy the USA has employed post WWII, I assure you the alternative, fighting here on our land, amongst our civilians, with modern weapons, would leave you far less enthused.