Thread: Military service = the best & only way to serve your country?

Originally Posted by tsquare

I am of mix feelings on this... I like the idea of mandatory post high school service... it would serve as a common denominator that our current society lacks. But there is something about the mandatory part...

Well there was that little thing about "involuntary servitude" regardless of what nonsense the supreme court spouted in 1918.

If a free man will not join the army to fight a war the war isn't worth fighting.

Tocqueville wrote:
"The New Englander is attached to his township because it is strong and independent; he has an interest in it because he shares in its management; he loves it because he has no reason to complain of his lot; he invests his ambition and his future in it; in the restricted sphere within his scope, he learns to rule society; he gets to know those formalities without which freedom can advance only through revolutions, and becoming imbued with their spirit, develops a taste for order, understands the harmony of powers, and in the end accumulates clear, practical ideas about the nature of his duties and the extent of his rights. "
Were it so here... everywhere... today.

Read it to my wife just now, that's the New England character we both identify with and care about. We still have town meetings as do the towns our parents live in. Our local government is us and the state government isn't too far removed, it's sort of baffling to me to visit parts of the U.S. where it's decidedly different.

If we had a town or county militia I'd serve in a heartbeat.

Originally Posted by pramjockey

Military service = the best & only way to serve your country?

I was talking to an old military friend last night about these things, but to answer your question: NO. I served America no less by working staying off drugs and gangs, paying taxes and so on, and if the rift exists between me and some veterans I think it is mostly because of this belief that many of them have that they are the only ones who served this country while I, the immigrant have enjoyed their fruits of labor, and that is BS, but I have always and will be always willing to put the BS aside as long as they respect MY SERVICE for the country equaly - especialy considering that military did not rescue us from an invading army recently, they did not even rescue us from our government and I believe that speaking out against government can be a service too when you risk your career or business in doing so because everybody (government media) is behind the "troops".

Originally Posted by JDJarvis

Well there was that little thing about "involuntary servitude" regardless of what nonsense the supreme court spouted in 1918.

If a free man will not join the army to fight a war the war isn't worth fighting.




Read it to my wife just now, that's the New England character we both identify with and care about. We still have town meetings as do the towns our parents live in. Our local government is us and the state government isn't too far removed, it's sort of baffling to me to visit parts of the U.S. where it's decidedly different.

If we had a town or county militia I'd serve in a heartbeat.

A Vermonter? Does any other state still have March Meeting Day?

How do you feel about Bernie?

Originally Posted by Dick Martin

A Vermonter? Does any other state still have March Meeting Day?

How do you feel about Bernie?

Not a Vermonter currently. I would have moved to St Albans if they hired me as town manager.

Not too fond of Bernie Sanders.

I think the best way to serve your country is to not work for the government.

Originally Posted by Prince of Space

I think the best way to serve your country is to not work for the government.

I wonder if cops and firefighters agree with you. I know I am pretty happy that the two EMT guys who saved my life worked for the government.

Originally Posted by Dick Martin

I wonder if cops and firefighters agree with you. I know I am pretty happy that the two EMT guys who saved my life worked for the government.

Oh come on If they worked for McDonald's and saved your life you'd be just as OK with that.

I disagree with the other post suggesting that not working for the government is the best way to serve the country but please...save me the "the government saved my life" crap.

Originally Posted by lutherf

Oh come on If they worked for McDonald's and saved your life you'd be just as OK with that.

I disagree with the other post suggesting that not working for the government is the best way to serve the country but please...save me the "the government saved my life" crap.

So you believe McDonalds sends their fry guy to EMT school, just in case?

Nah. Those EMTs are not McDonalds employees.

Ronald Reagan got a lot of mileage out of "The government is not the solution, the government is the problem" but he is very, very wrong. There are countries all over this planet, and all of them have people. What makes America different is the government, not the people.

As a forner Major in the Us Army, I gave my ALL :rolleyes:,

simultaniously a Proffesor in the Dept of Medicine Univ of Colorado,

And I never worked fewer hours my entire life! :rolleyes:


Re: Vermont and their ilk:

The only good thing about New England is "The New England Journal of Medicine",

certainly NOT the Red Sox

Originally Posted by Steve

As retired military, it should come as no surprise that I believe that the military is quite high on the list. Is it the only way? Of course not. Some people just aren't cut out for it.

I do, however, believe that the military is among the most honorable ways to serve your country...

I happen to agree with you whole heartedly , yes there are most definitely many ways to serve your country but I think that military has to be high on the list because of the sacrifices they have to make, the lifestyle they must endure , and the potential for and actual loss of life . I know there are other professions where these are realities but perhaps not so much as a day to day, ongoing thing.

Originally Posted by Steve

As retired military, it should come as no surprise that I believe that the military is quite high on the list. Is it the only way? Of course not. Some people just aren't cut out for it.

I do, however, believe that the military is among the most honorable ways to serve your country...

Honorable-yuk-yuk

Originally Posted by pramjockey

There have been a series of comments here on USPOL lately that seem to bely an interesting view - it seems that some here believe that the only way (or at least the best way, to the exclusion of all others) to serve your country is through the armed services.

I challenge this view. I would agree that serving in the armed services is one way in which an individual can serve his nation, but I would wholeheartedly disagree that it is the only way. I would also argue that it is not the best way ("best" being defined as the singular most effective) to serve your country - that other forms of service can and do have equivalent positive effect for the nation.

What's your take? Is the military the only way to serve? Is it the best way? Why or why not?


Oh, and lest it get started - this thread is NOT about why you dislike the military. This thread is NOT about why X military conflict is unjust or illegal. This thread is only about the benefits that service has to one's nation, in comparison to other efforts.

It's not necessarily the best and certainly not the only way. Nurses, economists, town administrators, social workers, business owners, whistleblowers, etc., can all play a public service role, whether they're government employees or not. Serving in the military can be a service to one's country, but I wouldn't say so in all situations, i.e. serving in a military that will act without taking the interests of a nation's people into consideration, a military that will serve the government even at the expense of the country. Still, service in the military (and law enforcement) is very different from other types of service because these individuals are tasked with carrying out a central function of any effective government, which is the use of force when necessary. IMO that role demands greater sacrifices than other public services.

I spent 3 years building state-of-the-art military equipment - well, before congress cancelled those programs.

Does that count?