Damned stupidass blogdrama.
In response to a comment at Roberta’s blog, I tried to post this at Counter’s site but could not. THe “you have to belong to one of these clubs to comment here” stuff annoys me no end, but i suppose if you have buckets of traffic you need it, I never have.
Anyway, Counterclockwise gave me grief about mandatory service (a tiny aside in a larger comment about why I think military service is a good thing) and he went into detail at his own site about it. Her’es the comment i tried to leave, but since I’m not one of the kool kids I couldn’t.
OK. So you have latched onto my comment of mandatory service and assumed it meant “conscription” It did not, and you didn’t gather the point I was trying to make. But that’s beside the point of my post.
No, I’m not a knuckle breathing neanderthal (despite the handle) that gets all gooey about the swiss. I hate the swiss, in fact, and do so with a remarkable vigour (not the swiss as individuals, but as an ideology) So when I mention the Swiss ideal it is as a reference to a specific point, which you choose to ignore, basing everything on your own superior knowledge of the subject, while, of course, missing my primary point, which is that mandatory service would as a general rule make Americans better people.(before you wander off on another tangent, please read “As a ganeral rule” three times quickly) I have yet to meet a swiss individual who is not improved- and their respect for their nation and it’s laws increased- by their military service. Although that is certainly anecdotal and I’m confident they exist. I’m sorry to mischaracterize your ‘africa” comment, honestly did miss the “central” bit of it. odd, because that’s where I’ll be in a couple months, you’d think I’d have “central africa” on the brain.
Anyway: My point (of course)wasn’t that hordes of gun wielding statist jackbooted thugs round up all able bodied men and force them at gunpoint onto waiting troop transports, but that Those Who Served are generally better citizens for it, and if you’d like to argue that, I’ll take that challenge, anytime. I’m amazed at how damned touchy people are about “conscription is evil, dude!!”
You aren’t a Ron Paul supporter, are you? (grin)
Smile. And lemme buy you a beer. And chill the fuck out.
.
14 comments Og | Uncategorized
I’m chill, brother, don’t worry about my blood pressure. I like that you talk about keeping it civil in your About statement, so I’m more than happy to keep it in that zone if you are. We probably agree on most things anyways, and I’d buy you a beer too.
But I do have a particular gripe with conscription, as you’ve gleaned. I know several ethnic Hungarians who were drafted for service in the Yugoslav army back in the early ’90s, and they were perfectly happy with the choice to be a draft dodger. I’m sure I would have done the same; not sure how you feel about it.
Anyway, it’s funny how you keep accusing me of missing your point when actually you’re missing mine. Talking past each other, I guess.
My beef is with ALL forms of mandatory service, not just conscription. Please read my comments again.
Whether service makes people ‘better’ or not is an outcome-oriented argument that I reject. Cutting their nuts off might make most men better too, but that doesn’t make it right.
But I agree with you in that most people I know who volunteered for something did gain from the experience (or thought they did), but you’re talking about people who’ve chosen to do so. The point is that once it’s mandatory, you’re moving from a zone of virtue to one of compulsion.
CCW
p.s. My Blogger account only blocks anonymous comments; wasn’t meant to shut you out. I’ll post a link to your comment on my blog.
Sweet. yeah, we may equally be missing one another’s points, easy to do when posting at 75 mph on a TREO.
As for this:”But I agree with you in that most people I know who volunteered for something did gain from the experience (or thought they did), but you’re talking about people who’ve chosen to do so. The point is that once it’s mandatory, you’re moving from a zone of virtue to one of compulsion.” I guess I’ve been lucky then, because I’m related to a dozen or more ww2 vets who were drafted and the service did them nothing but good. Your Hungarian argument holds a lot of water. In Hungary. Not here, so far as I can see.
Conscripts are for armies that hate to win wars. Not interested. Now, got any Black to drink?
uncle calvin was drafted. no finer man I know. uncle richard too. cousin ben. cousin dan. all draftees. all decent men. good men, made better by their service.
WWII was a whole different ballgame.
The guys drafted to go to Germany or Japan knew they were going, and had no problem with it. They wanted to fight.
The war in Korea changed this country forever.
Question, to you and all of your readers.
Which name do you like the best?
I’ve reserved all of them. Any suggestions are helpful.
Big Dick’s Drive In
Big Dick’s Lounge
Your Fucking Parents Should Have Had An Abortion
I’m Right, You’re Wrong. Fuck You.
The Dick Lounge
Big Dick’s Dirty Sanchez
Big Dick’s Easy Place
I like “abortion” myself, but “sanchez” is a close second. It should have “obamanation” in it somewhere to bait trolls.
OK, I know, it’s not cricket to hunt over bait.
I’m Right, Your Wrong. Fuck You, does have a special ring to it!
I probably should have served, it would have been good for me, but I would have hated it and probably would have spent some time in the gaurdhouse.
By the way, I was born in Switzerland, but came here before I was a year old. Half German, half Swiss, all American and got a paper to prove it.
Problem is, the Swiss half wants to eat chocolate and fix clocks and the German half wants to drink beer and kick ass. Sure is a cross I must bear. ;)
Dick;
I like “I’m Right; You’re Wrong; Fuck You!” (Properly punctuated. Real men know how to use a semicolon, unlike those metrosexual pussies in the publishing industry.)
But it really doesn’t matter what you call it — POST SOMETHING!
M
Big Dick’s Halfway Inn:
Liquor up front, poker in the rear.
I wish I’d served. Especially after 9/11 came along and I was too old to volunteer.
My dad and his two brothers served in WWII, all drafted if I recall correctly, as did a slew of their cousins. The one uncle on my mother’s side served for about a month till they cut him loose for a heart murmur. He was not happy about that, then or ever.
During the Vietnam War some guys ran to Canada. Mohammad Ali was a conscientious objector and fought it all the way into court… the Supreme Court. He won. He didn’t run. I know a Jehovah’s Witness who did his time in a Federal Pen. He didn’t run. He did his time.I respect him. The others were cunts. Straight up cunts. I’m a Vietnam era vet who trained in a company comprised of about or over 80% draftees. They didn’t want to be there. They did their tours of duty. Fuck the draft dodgers. In.the.neck. Fuck Gerald Ford for granting those bitches amnesty, too. Fuck it, drive on! (FIDO)
I’m not sure that I wish I’d served – I know I missed-out on something but I’ve missed out on a lot of things while doing things few others have done.
Had I served it would have been in the disastrous Carter Years, an Army and a military from what I’ve heard best characterized as at the height of dysfunction and the nadir of morale.
Besides, I was born-into God’s Army – my dad was a preacher and I was a missionary kid. He joined…the Navy and went to Annapolis – not on the graces of a Congressman or Senator but by testing – and it was more or less safe there. Classmates went in and shipped out and got killed – he kept getting his orders switched, he rowed on the Crew team and was too big to be a radioman in a dive-bomber – switch training – finally he went through the Panama Canal and the War ended. Then he went to Theological Seminary. I can tell you that is like taking a vow of poverty, hardly any (total of none) of the preacher kids I knew growing up had any kind of big-ass “Crystal Church Cathedral” – or any kind of money, and what Preacher Parents think is fun and good for kids was Church-Camp. If you’ve been to Band Camp at least that’s something, now imagine something triple-time boring with some not very faint overtones of behavioral oppression and control.
My rebellion was to become a goddam hippie just when my parents’ religion was going all Reverend Wright and Leftwing Secular Liberation Theology crap.
I couldn’t even get the rebellion right – or see straight, because just a Santa Cruz hippie doofus wasn’t quite enough of a Pure Socialist for their approval – there’s always room to improve, to become more Chomsky – like with a PhD, to really be a Big Time Fraud.
I guess that was the final rebellion, not going for the golden carrot of Higher-Ed that was on such a pedestal, to the Olympian Heights of the University Gods. I worked instead in the Gods’ dirty-laundry room. Teh University is one of the most hollowed-out and termite-eaten institutions – it is raw corruption. Students – HA! They are nothing more than a Federal Tax break and a slight-of-hand to Teh Universityz real intentions.
Anyhow I was already too old at 9/11.
Sorry about that, nevermind.