You mistake my intention. I have no illusions that my question will shame anyone into enlisting. As I said, on the whole, these are people who believe they're above military service.
Biden got the invasion he wanted, and it's getting innocent people killed. The people to whom I direct my question don't give a shit.
Phooey. I also reject the idea that Biden wanted this invasion. I’ll write more about that in a moment.
But lets get back to the idea that “these people” believe they are above Military Service.
About half of troops surveyed for the poll said they have an unfavorable view of the commander in chief.
www.militarytimes.com
While we don’t know how the troops ended up voting, the polling was pretty consistent. A slight preference for Biden over Trump. So “These People” seem to be the ones joining.
And me, I describe myself as a Moderate. I’m Liberal on some issues, and Conservative on others. I knew several troops who felt similarly back in the day.
About one in five soldiers come from Texas, and California.
California of course is well known as a Liberal Shit Hole, so the Volunteers are unlikely to be hard core RW believers. Not with the recruiters being in cities and population centers in such numbers.
So “These People” are in fact enlisting. And by whatever metric we choose to examine the issue, apparently make up about half the population of the Army. Which is about what the population of the nation seems to be.
Let’s deal in that reality for a few minutes. About a third of the Nation would vote Democrat even if Satan was the candidate. About a third of the nation would vote Republican if Satan was the Candidate. Either through Apathy, they don’t know anything about the candidate, or a believe that anything is better than THEM. I’m sure you know more than a few Republicans who fall into that category.
The remaining third are like me, somewhat Moderate. They switch back and forth. Depending on the issues, they switch from Conservative Democrats, to Liberal Republicans, and occasionally third party out of disgust with the two main parties.
When a majority of that group votes conservatively, we hear how the Republicans are on the ascension and the Democrats are dead for all time by the idiot pundits. When they shift to vote more Liberal, then the Republicans are dead for all time, they’ll never win another election, and the nation is more Liberal from different idiot pundits.
Nobody has won a landslide victory since Reagan, and his last election was 1984. Now, I’m on record for giving him credit, and taking issue with his policies. One of those things I give him credit for is his stance on the Soviet Union. One of those things I take issue with him on, is Mental Health Treatment. A lot of our problems today, socially, were created, or exacerbated by Reagan’s policy on Mental Health. Reagan was a good President. He communicated well, and was driven by Principles. I can respect that, even when I disagree with him on some issues.
Now, to Biden “getting the war he wanted”. As I said above. Phooey. Biden is not responsible. He didn’t give the order to have Russia invade. I think you are making a mistake, a common mistake. You are blaming your political enemy for things they have no control over. Yes, I rejected that attitude when Bush was President during Katrina. Yes, I rejected it when Obama was President, and when Trump was President. Look it up. I said a year into Trump’s Presidency that the opposition to Trump was not based upon policy or actions but hatred of the man.
I don’t agree with everything Biden is trying to do. I didn’t agree with everything Trump tried to do. I oppose things I believe are wrong. No matter who is in office.
When I was a boy, I learned that Principles were the only foundation of beliefs. Ronald Reagan had Principles. You could have sat down with him on an unprepared discussion, and asked him his ideals on any issue, and he could talk about them for fifteen minutes easily, because his positions were based upon his principles. He believed the Soviet Leadership was evil. He could discuss that with ease. He believed the Russian People were good, and wanted freedom. He could discuss that equally easily.
The “leaders” of today are bereft of Principles. And yes, I include Trump in that. Their only Principle is that winning is good, and loosing is bad. Everything else is negotiable.
Biden tried to talk to Putin, but the information he was getting from the Intelligence Services told him that Putin was stringing us along, preparing to invade.
When Biden told us that, the folks on the right, who detest Biden because he is a Democrat. Well, they told us that it was all Propaganda, that Biden was trying to create an enemy to distract the population from spotty shortages of things in Grocery Stores. High Inflation. COVID, and a host of other nonsensical things. RT and other Russian News Outlets ran with that ball like it was the best news they could have.
Then Putin invaded, as we were warned would happen. Now, Biden, who was belittled by the Right for saying that Putin would invade, when Putin was a great guy, is outraged that Biden didn’t stop Putin, or do something to end it.
The Russian People took to the streets to protest the war. Nobody mentions that. They believed the propaganda, that Biden was making this all up for some nefarious reason.
The only pundit who hasn’t changed their tune, is Trump.
There are a thousand questions we aren’t talking about. Because we keep dealing with more and more insane theories trying to blame this on Biden. Putin started a war, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands, probably tens of thousands by now, and what are we discussing today? How is Biden responsible for this?
That is a knee jerk response. A reflex action when your principles are based upon the letter after the name, instead of the actions.
Even if I had stayed in the Military, for the full career, I’d be out by now. I’m too old to be running around a desk much less the woods. But I can’t think of a time of my adult life, where I wouldn’t believe that us getting involved, was the wrong thing.
Biden didn’t trigger this. Biden didn’t encourage this. Biden isn’t responsible for the actions of Putin. When someone is determined on a course of action, you can dissuade him only through extreme actions of your own. How many police shootings have taken seconds to evolve. The entire time the officer saying something like. Don’t do this, don’t make me shoot you.
There was one a few weeks ago. A disgruntled employee shot up the place where he used to work. He was followed by police as he walked down the sidewalk. The police begged, threatened, and cajoled the man to put the weapon down. The police ended up shooting. I don’t have any issue with that shooting. The police had time, and tried to use a nonviolent means to resolve the situation. They ended up using force, because the other side was uninterested in resolving anything.
The police were not responsible for the actions of the madman. Just as Biden is not responsible for the actions of Putin. Biden is responsible for his own actions, and he has advisors, lawyers, and military experts giving him options and restrictions.
Military power has limits, and you exceed those limits at the peril of those you send.
