Today, in an interview about his movie, Snowden, Oliver Stone said: “We are the only Western democracy that worships the military.” He then went on to talk about the extent to which we are so heavily involved in the world and are projecting our military in almost every country. He shared some very interesting points tonight.
If it is true that we unnecessarily worship our military, what does it mean? It means that we believe the military must be bigger, that our veterans must be treated better, and that if we fix all of our problems with our military, we will achieve Nirvana. I always find it interesting that these ideas are always pushed during a presidential campaign. We are often warned that we are about ready to be overrun, militarily, and that we must fight back with bigger military force. This always sells well with the people, without any regard for our budget deficits, our military strength, or the capabilities of our allies.
I always find it interesting (and it doesn’t matter what is actually going on in the world) what our actual military strength level is, what are our alliances – what are the capabilities of our allies or what the budget deficits are – that during a presidential campaign it always sells well to claim that the military needs to be bigger, that we are just about ready to be overrun militarily, and that if we just fix all the problems with our military and treated our veterans better that Nirvana will break out.
It is actually deemed unpatriotic if one suggests that perhaps a bigger military isn’t going to make us any safer and may actually debilitate our economic structure. No one ever asks: How big should our military be, and why? How much should we rely upon our allies? Can you be both pro veteran and soldier, but be against certain types of military buildup or against certain wars?
We often worship our military unnecessarily, and to an illogical and irrational level. While the soldier who keeps the bombs and bayonets at bay from murdering us are very recognizably important and do make great sacrifices, they are no more important than the farmers and farm workers who keep the pangs of hunger from our bellies.
Also, exploding deficits through military enlargement is not necessarily more benevolent than uncontrolled entitlement spending.
Don’t forget that. Ask the hard questions of Mr. Trump, if you are supporting him.
Loren M. Lambert © September 12, 2016
If it is true that we unnecessarily worship our military, what does it mean? It means that we believe the military must be bigger, that our veterans must be treated better, and that if we fix all of our problems with our military, we will achieve Nirvana. I always find it interesting that these ideas are always pushed during a presidential campaign. We are often warned that we are about ready to be overrun, militarily, and that we must fight back with bigger military force. This always sells well with the people, without any regard for our budget deficits, our military strength, or the capabilities of our allies.
I always find it interesting (and it doesn’t matter what is actually going on in the world) what our actual military strength level is, what are our alliances – what are the capabilities of our allies or what the budget deficits are – that during a presidential campaign it always sells well to claim that the military needs to be bigger, that we are just about ready to be overrun militarily, and that if we just fix all the problems with our military and treated our veterans better that Nirvana will break out.
It is actually deemed unpatriotic if one suggests that perhaps a bigger military isn’t going to make us any safer and may actually debilitate our economic structure. No one ever asks: How big should our military be, and why? How much should we rely upon our allies? Can you be both pro veteran and soldier, but be against certain types of military buildup or against certain wars?
We often worship our military unnecessarily, and to an illogical and irrational level. While the soldier who keeps the bombs and bayonets at bay from murdering us are very recognizably important and do make great sacrifices, they are no more important than the farmers and farm workers who keep the pangs of hunger from our bellies.
Also, exploding deficits through military enlargement is not necessarily more benevolent than uncontrolled entitlement spending.
Don’t forget that. Ask the hard questions of Mr. Trump, if you are supporting him.
Loren M. Lambert © September 12, 2016
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