A rough hewn collection of thoughts…please bear with my rambling and incomplete thought process.

I am going to preface this whole rant with the fact that I am a sailor, I am not a boots-on-ground soldier and do not wish to be, nor will I presume to speak for all military service members.  This, like all of my rants, is an opinion.  Please keep comments and thoughts to those which are or will be constructive.

 

There are a few phrases that I feel we hear nearly every day and most certainly too often:

“Thank you for defending our freedom.”

“Our service members are heroes.”

“He/she was defending our country/way of life/freedom, in Iraq/Afghanistan/wherever.”

If I still have your attention, allow me to continue; I have a feeling I have at least touched a nerve.

We don’t fight for freedom, we fight for an ideal; a retaliation for an atrocity nearly 12 years ago.  We are fighting to place a stable, US friendly government; in the areas we want allies.  We put our troops in danger to further the perceived prosperity of our own interests.  Our freedom is not threatened by foreign armies on foreign land. Just the same, we are not the nation’s heroes, or at least we don’t strive to be; we are our wives’ hero, our sons’ and daughters’ hero; not a stranger from the street.  If our freedom is truly threatened, it would be from within our own hallowed walls of government; not from someone holding a gun and wearing a foreign uniform.

I am always at a loss as to what to say to someone who says “Thank you for your service.”  This isn’t because I am an outright jerk.  This is because I truly don’t believe anything we do is as spectacular as people believe, or want to believe.  Yes, some things we do are pretty awesome, but the majority is vanilla.  (This is strictly from my point of view as a Submariner; as I have no experience on the ground in war zones I don’t wish to presume I would even understand).  Some missions we conduct truly are for national security and make a difference.  Some are mundane and boring.  I continue to do it though; because so few people can, and because I truly love what I do.

Speaking for me, and what I would like to believe would be a good amount of my brothers and sisters in arms; we do not do what we do to be called “Hero”.  We do what we do because we love what we do and we love our family and country enough to want them to have a safe future.  We are doing our job. 

I don’t feel as though I have “answered a higher calling”; I feel I enlisted to perform a job, a very specific one, but a job nonetheless.  It is no different for me to go into work every day, or to wake up and take the watch than it is for someone to go to work in their office and keep the wheels of the great machine turning. 

It is unfortunate that there is evil in this world and that there is a need for jobs such as mine.  It is a reality that has been since the beginning of time.  The human race is narcissistic; regardless of “Christian” values, morals and societal needs.  We exist to further ourselves as a whole.  The individual contributions of others to each other are merely an individual trait.  In the end, even those values and self-sacrifice are a means to a pseudo-selfish end.  Isn’t the greatest reward at the end of life to bring yourself closer to whichever God you believe in?

This is where I take issue with people calling Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen their hero.  The Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force are protecting the country, yes; but they are not doing it in the way that people as a whole believe.  When they step foot out of whatever form or transportation takes them to a war zone, they are not doing so to fight an immediate threat (not always) to our country.  The ones that truly are on standby to protect the country are those who serve in the National Guard.  That is the purpose of the National Guard.  If the need should ever arise, they are the ones who are waiting to shelter the masses from whatever immediate threat exists.  This is not to say the regular forces would not answer the call and protect what needs to be protected; but with a good number deployed elsewhere, they would not immediately be available to do so.

Deployed forces are fighting terrorism.  They are battling an intangible, a concept that exists because of other contradicting ideals.  They are fighting to establish for the US a foothold in areas where a tangible threat may possibly, some day, exist.  They are establishing governments and forces in foreign lands that will be friendly toward the US and in some political or economic way help our interests.

To bring this to a rather quick close and allow for comments and discussion if need be, I will close with this thought:

The next time you see a service member and their family, or a service member alone; don’t thank them for being a “hero” or protecting “freedom”, thank their family for their strength in supporting the service member in doing what they love.  Thank them for helping keep war from our shores. 

If you want to call someone a hero, tell the service members’ wives; who sit at home managing life while the member is doing what they love.  Tell their children; who will have a safe and secure future because of their parent’s sacrifices.  Tell me, and I will give you the local VFW address so you can thank a WWII vet.  I am only doing my job.

Finally, don’t take this as me trying to be overly humble for a reaction.  I believe what I write and I make every attempt at not exaggerating.  I only believed that I would serve 6 years and separate.  I realized after some time that I do enjoy my job, and more importantly, the security that I have with it.

Here I go again…

Great job to the sensalationalist media on continuing to cover thehorrific events that occured on Friday.  Keep shoving your cameras inthe faces of the people that need comfort and solace and continue tocapitalize on their suffering.  Let them have their peace and mourn for the devastation that has occured.

In the mean time thanks to the unending coverage of the events of last week there continue to be stories popping up all over the news about similar events happening.  I am sure it had nothing to do with giving the gunman his 15 minutes of fame and igniting the flame in countless other psychopaths who were already close to their tipping point; and now they want to out-do the last.

Address the flaws in our society and focus on what was done right.  Don’t look at this as an incident of one person gone wrong.  I understand as an outsider it is easy for me to criticize, and I can’t even imagine the anguish of the parents, family and friends immediately affected by this.  The solution lies in changing the way we deal with our children; how we raise them, how we teach them right from wrong, morals, and most importantly how we take an active role in their lives.  

As I said, I am an outsider, I can not completely understand but I can say (and my brother and sister will likely agree):  We grew up in a home with stern discipline for doing wrong, but we also had parents that were directly involved in our lives.  At 22 I still called home nearly every day; even when home on leave I checked in with them at night if I wouldn’t be home.  I respected my parents and what they did to raise me, I knew that I didn’t always agree with their rules but I also understood that their rules were there for a reason.  I made my mistakes and I got punished…and never made the same mistake again.  

There is an article circulating Facebook called “I am whatever-the-psycho-from-friday’s-name-is Mother”.  She is not actually his mother, unfortunately she was killed by her son.  She is, however, the mother of a child with psychological problems.  I take issue with this though.  This mother talks about how her son threatened her with a knife, how he threatens to kill people on a regular basis; as well asl threats to take his own life.  She continues to say that he has been to every psychologist, psychiatrist and therapist to no avail.  What she also says is that her discipline consists of “gentle words” and taking away his electronic for the day.  For the day?!  Again, I am not in this situation myself and do not have direct knowledge but she breaks it down pretty well.  It sounds to me like this may be something going back to the very beginning of this child’s life.  Instead of a quick and decided smack on the ass for doing something wrong, she turned to “oh, please don’t do that honey”.  When he threatens with knives she takes them and locks them in her car and tells him to stop, he refuses to change his pants to comply with his school’s dress code and calls her a bitch, she tells him that it’s not nice and please change.  Who is the controlling party in this backwards relationship?  Where is the fear of God in this child? 

This is a continuing trend.  We are told it is unlawful to punish our children the same way that we were, we placate and we submit to the children.  We have replaced spanking with a nice comfy chair in the corner to sit in time out and think about what we did.  We reward children for being at a sporting event and not doing well…so they don’t feel bad.  We shelter our children from everything we can so they can feel fulfilled.  Yet we do nothing to prepare them for the horrors of society and the real world of criticism and hardships.  They grow up in their bubble of self-absorbed, gotta-have-it-now, and then when the world comes to their door they have no idea how to react; the parents who were only there supplying their “drug” didn’t reach them during the crucial development of the child’s own morals; then something like Sandy Hook happens, something like Columbine, Aurora, and countless other events.

When these things happen, people always look to blame the guns and the society that glamourizes violence.  Of course, it is so much easier to point the finger at the inanimate object than it is to the people behind what happened.  Oh, but they were a good person, sweet and loving, no one would have known.  I call bullshit.  If it is the truth, then I point my finger to the failed upbringing.  Again, I go to my argument above, my parents were involved, loving and caring.

Don’t look to make more gun laws either.  If a criminal is a criminal then they won’t care about breaking the law and stealing a gun or posessing one to begin with. 

 I know we can’t “go back” to the 50’s.  They had their problems too; but instead lets reflect on what there was that made things the way they were and could make things better.  Keep in mind I say this as an agnostic.  Religion.  They have taken religion out of everything.  People are afraid to speak their minds on religion for fear of the person next to them capitalizing on it and crying wolf.  Religious freedom is the basis for our country’s founding yet we get farther and farther from that nearly every day.  The 50’s also had a strong centralized family.  Divorce was something rarely seen, young single parents were nearly non-existent, marriage was something to be held dear.  This formed a strong family bond that in turn helped instill values and morals into the children.  My parents were of that era.  They carried on those same values and instilled them in me.  I would like to think I am a pretty stable guy.   

 So, stop letting the media give these people their 15 minutes, start helping the people that need it heal.  Instead of focusing on making more gun laws, focus on better qualification processes.  Stop falling back on “well they were a good person” or “he was unstable and he needed meds”, that does no good.  I understand that there will always be mental illness in the world, is is an unfortunate truth; but I disagree with medicating the children into little zombies.  They are kids, they have energy, smack them when they get out of line and they will stop what it is that they are doing…correctional….strange how it works.  Finally, for the sake of everyone, become an active parent.  Teach your child how to throw a ball, how to rake leaves, or even the devastating power of a weapon, let them fear it rather than exhalt it.  Turn off the games and TV, break out a family board game, have dinner at the table and discuss how they feel.  Let them open to you and show mutual respect and I guarantee it will be returned (maybe not the 16 year olds but they will appreciate it later).  Show your children that wrong behavior is punished and not acceptable.  Let them lose something and don’t console them with a prize, console them with “Well you figured out you’re not good at that yet.  Try again or try something new.”    Let our children grow thick skin and self-worth.  Make them earn the atta-boy.  Show them that you support them and help them find their own direction.  Otherwise we will all have to hug it out again when the next person flies off the handle and commits another horrible crime.  

 I can’t possibly fathom the way the parents, families and friends feel.  I can’t begin to express how it makes me feel.  I can however, let them have their peace and privacy.  I hope their children can become children again; and get the help they may need so they are not the next generation of 15-minute seekers.  In the mean time I will not sign an electronic petition, I will not attend a vigil and I will not watch the news stories about this.  My “signature” will not end their sorrow.  My presence will not bring their little angel back.  My watching the news will not answer any questions.  Let these people have their peace.

Now,  I am going to turn off the computer and get on the floor with my daughter and help her put her babies “nuh-night”.

I am a man of opinions

I have opinions on nearly every topic people can have opinions on.

They differ from some people and agree with others and sometimes are completely my own.  At least I would like to think that to be the truth.  I don’t watch cable news and I don’t really hop on social media bandwagons.  I am my own person and the attempts of other people to influence what I think or feel about a specific topic are all in vain.

I think the media, regardless what channel you watch, is out for their particular interests, may it be a liberally biased report or a conservative slant.  They are always looking to further their agendas.  This is covered in short on my first post as well.  I do, however, try to keep at least informed, using articles from as many sources (liberal, conservative, independent etc.) as I can find.  I use that information to make what I like to consider “informed” decisions and formulate “factually based” opinions.

That all being said…here are a few of my opinions.  Like them or not, I honestly don’t mind either way.  That’s the wonder of having an amendment in our bill of rights allowing for free speech.  Keep in mind these are only brief touches on topics and not my full opinion.  I will delve deeper with further posts, or elaborate if asked.  Also, this may touch on topics covered in my previous post.  Bear with me.

There are many people who are outspoken on their specific views of how government should be run, by whom and for whom.  The problem with this is that it doesn’t matter who the people feel should run it.  Ultimately it comes down to the people that are in power putting people who will benefit them in power.  The illusion of a government run by the people for the people no longer exists.  Take, for example, the 2000 election.  George W. Bush won the electoral vote by 5 votes yet lost the popular vote by ~500,000 popular votes.  This may have just been a matter of party allegiance in the electoral college, but more likely was a matter of a power base of interests managing behind the scenes and pushing for the few deciding votes.  This was the first instance of such an event since 1888 when President Harrison was elected into office.

While I am mentioning the electoral college, I may as well touch on that subject as well.  The electoral college was instituted in order to maintain a sort of check on voting.  It was seen that the states with larger cities could and would sway the vote to the interests of their specific industries, thereby making the rural areas with less population a moot point when it comes to voting.  This was a good theory, but in modern practice it is flawed.  The same example from above can be cited for this as well.  The population of a state as a whole determines the overall number of electoral votes; the number of representatives plus two for the senators.  This creates (at present) a total of 538 electors.  These electors are the ones responsible for the final election count for a candidate.  The problem that I see with this is that the rural places are still left out.  Take for example a state like New York.  There are 7 million plus people in the city and the rest of the state rounds out to be about the same number.  This means 1/2 of the votes are coming from a relatively small and centralized section of what is mainly a rural state.  How does this benefit the population outside of the New York city area?  It really doesn’t.

A little look behind my curtain…

Allow me to explain; although I owe it to no one I still feel it needs to be said.

I did not vote.

It isn’t that I don’t believe in our political system, because I do. I just don’t believe that it properly works. I believe that the people have a small amount of voice in what our country does and who shall lead us.

We are taught that we have a multi-party system; those who wish to run for office can and will. My problem comes from the method. While there are really 2 black and white sides to our politics: Conservative and Liberal, there is so much more that lies between. Different people share different views for economic policies and social reforms and programs etc; and the black and white fades. While there may be 1,000 people that have separate viable ideas that would truly work for our country, only the two major parties receive attention to their specific views. The views of the others fade into the background noise. I personally believe it has been at least 15 years since a third party politician has offered contention or impact on the candidacy for President.

Here is something to think about. When was the last time a person was elected President from a third party (i.e. not Republican or Democrat or any historical form of the two parties)?

Abraham Lincoln. November, 1860. 152 years ago.

We have become an even greater country than Mr. Lincoln could have ever imagined yet there has been no one since him from a third party.

Now that we are in a time of media saturation, only those who are backed by the enormous finances of the two major parties even stand a chance. The political system of our country has become a club of elites who empower those who will further their interests and benefit them the most. We simply partake because it is our “civic duty” or to “exercise their rights”. Just 12 years ago, the “popular” vote was meaningless as the Electoral College, representatives that “we the people” trusted to follow our decisions, voted in opposition of what the popular vote dictated. The very same Electoral College that was put in place to simplify and check the election process; the very people we entrusted to follow our wishes.

At this point, or even before, I imagine people are saying any or more of the following:

“If you don’t like it, change it.”
“If you don’t like it, move.”
“Fine, run for office yourself.”

I am sure there are many people that think without voting, I lose the right to complain. In not voting though, am I not exercising a different right? The freedom of choice at its basic level.

I have a few answers to the examples above. For starters, the most obvious keeping me from Presidency, I am not old enough. More importantly for me, I am somewhat on the fence on some issues and my views are pliable depending on the specific situation. It is near impossible to run on a platform that moves. I can’t claim to be liberal, conservative, Republican or Democrat.

If I were to move from the country, I would no longer be a member of what I believe to still be the greatest country in the world (I have lost faith in the political system, not the country itself). As for “changing it myself”; I believe the “occupy” protests proved enough, even with the voice of thousands very little change came about.

Maybe someday in the future I will run for office and climb the political ladder myself and hope to make change. I do believe, though, that money is more powerful a factor than the beliefs a person holds when it comes to being elected. I will never have the money to contend on a national scale, I will also never claim an affiliation with either party. I am not black and white on issues. Besides, the tremendous pressure and stress of President would absolutely drain me and be the end of me.

My bottom line belief is that the positions in Congress and of President, as I said earlier, are positions that are not brought about by a strong belief system or a sound plan. They are positions that the elite club puts into place to hold their interests and protect the vast amount of wealth that they already have. It is a boys’ club of rich simply advancing the most beneficial to positions of power, hoping to slow the demise of our system slower than their predecessor.

Please, don’t take this as me being unpatriotic. As I said, I love my country. If I didn’t I would never have signed up to protect it and its people. I believe each person is as important as the next; although some people take liberties and freedoms for granted (which perhaps I am doing with this…) but I am far from unpatriotic. Patriotism to me is the belief that your country, your home, is the greatest there is; and you would sacrifice to ensure its well being. I think everyone has sacrificed enough already to prove their patriotism. I will continue to show mine as well, just not at the voting booth. Not when I can’t identify with or believe in either candidate. Sure, there were more than two people on the ballot this past week but as I said already, third party candidates without a proper and true voice and without exposure don’t count in my book. When I see three people or more on stage for a debate, or when I hear the media cover more than just the two major party candidates, or if popular vote alone will determine who wins…then maybe I will vote.