From: Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sat Aug 31 2002 - 16:10:30 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Phillips <deepbluehalo@earthlink.net>
To: <extropians@tick.javien.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2002 3:15 AM
Subject: Re: Patriotism and Citizenship
> At the start of this thread, Brian D Williams
> <talon57@well.com> wrote:
>
>
> > My personal belief is that to have equal rights one
> > should pay an equal share of the costs.
There is no way to determine what "equal share" means. All men are created unequal and have differing worldviews, experiences and
investments. The bureaucratic attempts to statistically quantify a human being's life cannot change this reality.
> > And you continue to be a free person thanks to the
> > efforts of others.
> <<When I wore the uniform (US Army '68 to '70) they
> trained me, housed me, clothed me, fed me, provided
> medical care, and told me what to think. I expect
> they did the same for you. Except for that last item,
> where is there a price paid?
Taxpayers provide the purchasing power, not the Army.
> (Boot camp, mythology
> aside, is every boy's dream: summer camp with firearms
> and hand grenades (but where no one gets hurt)).>>
>
> Wait a second. Things have changed buddy. Boot camp
> was horrible. The jerks made you stay awake, screamed
> at you for nonpurposes such as petty sadism, and refused
> to let you think.
The function of ritual abuse is precisely to prevent cogitation.
> Actually I fear I may have paid an aweful price.. my honor.
> I'm wearing a uniform that says I'm an official parasite.. and
> it sucks a lot.
There actually is a valid market demand for violence specialists, which is not to imply that everybody needs to become one to prove
their worth.
> I don't want to help missile techs obliterate villages
> by mistake either. I made a bad [decision], as I
> am convinced everyone in the service did.
Defending the country from invasion is fairly valid, so we spontaneously raise armies when this occurs, such as in 1812. Being a
cleat on the bottom of the imperial boot is a bit less valid.
> It's not pleasant.. but the alternative is a dishonourable
> discharge and I selfishly refuse to harm my future
> by taking that route.
You might consider the CCCO or an honorable, administrative discharge, like I did. After studying the logical fallacies in the UCMJ
(Uniform Code of Military Justice- even the title contains internal contradictions), I made myself such a pain-in-the-ass the Navy
was able to correctly deduce they would be better off without me around. :^)
Forrest
-- Forrest Bishop Chairman, Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering www.iase.cc
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