As we near the end of what many observers say is the most incompetent and bad presidential administration in the history of the United States, this shows up.
Wow.
The military remains the most trusted U.S. institution, according to the latest Reagan National Defense Survey. In the seventh installment of the survey, 51% of respondents said they have “a great deal” of confidence in the military, up from 46% a year ago.
Not only that, but fear of China and Russia as “the leading threats” to Americans produced even more staggering results.
79% of the survey’s respondents said they want the FedGov to spend more on “national defense.” And 61% want the military to be expanded, and become large enough to “win two wars at once.”
(The survey is available here courtesy of AUSA. Keep in mind that AUSA is great at producing pro-militaristic propaganda.)
Remember that, despite what the various military leaders want – and the influence the political generals and especially the high-level bureaucrats have – the US military pretty much does ONLY what Congress orders it to do. And of course, pays for using money stolen from taxpayers – current and future.
To put it bluntly, whatever trust people put in the American military, can be (and is often) totally negated by Congress and the stupidity and power those 535 people (well, a majority of them) have. (Because we Americans in our Fifty States have given them the power and continue to elect stupid, greedy, power-hungry, egotistical people to be our “servants.”) Congress is the boss.
To quote an old Foreign Legion saying: “You are a Legionaire in order to die. And Parliament sends you where you are to die.”
If the military were allowed to – ordered to – actually provide “national defense” we’d still have a navy and an air (and space) force that has a few bases outside American territory. But very few: not troops and installations in virtually 95% of the world’s nations. To protect the sealanes and our commerce, to protect the airlanes and again, our commerce. And to allow us to watch and listen to those enemies that might actually threaten our land and people at home in the Fifty States. And most of those would be in space, frankly. Or on islands and perhaps a very few ports on mainlands.
We would not have penny packets of troops in a thousand or more places around the globe. We would not be paying billions of dollars not just to American military-industrial complex bad actors, but to tyrants and dictators and plutocrats and demagogues around the world to let us keep troops in their corner of the world. Not for them to pay us “for protection” but us to pay them to let us protect them.
And meanwhile, the idiot Congresscritters (but I repeat myself) tell us that all of this is to “keep America free.” Blargh!
Even though all military personnel are getting a 4.5% payraise this month – and junior enlisted a 14%+ payraise in August, most of the billions and billions we Americans spend for “defense” really goes into the back pockets of the defense industry and the politicians. And of course, the workers in those defense industries and the shills for the politicos.
The only thing we can really trust them to do is to take every opportunity to continue to feather their own nests. Even more than another thing we can trust them to do: send young American men and women into danger (and now and then to disabling permanent injuries or death) to satisfy and justify their greed. While true homeland security and defense is nothing but another pawn, a pretend routine that is a worthless facade.
Assuming we want and can get a truly trustworthy military, it will consist of about 90% of part-time, volunteer, locally-based, and locally minded men and women. Highly trained people who will not be deployed to far-off places in the interior of Asia or Africa, or to useless bases in Japan or Honduras or even Italy and Turkey. But who will be concerned with defending their homes and those of their neighbors and family and friends. And defending their liberty, their freedom. From enemies both foreign and domestic. People who are known and accountable to their local communities. And to God.
Don’t hold your breath for that to happen. At least not in the next four years.
But maybe, just maybe, we can get things to start moving that way.
About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.
The Price of Liberty 
Seriously? The most trusted governmental institution?
As we near the end of what many observers say is the most incompetent and bad presidential administration in the history of the United States, this shows up.
Wow.
The military remains the most trusted U.S. institution, according to the latest Reagan National Defense Survey. In the seventh installment of the survey, 51% of respondents said they have “a great deal” of confidence in the military, up from 46% a year ago.
Not only that, but fear of China and Russia as “the leading threats” to Americans produced even more staggering results.
79% of the survey’s respondents said they want the FedGov to spend more on “national defense.” And 61% want the military to be expanded, and become large enough to “win two wars at once.”
(The survey is available here courtesy of AUSA. Keep in mind that AUSA is great at producing pro-militaristic propaganda.)
Remember that, despite what the various military leaders want – and the influence the political generals and especially the high-level bureaucrats have – the US military pretty much does ONLY what Congress orders it to do. And of course, pays for using money stolen from taxpayers – current and future.
To put it bluntly, whatever trust people put in the American military, can be (and is often) totally negated by Congress and the stupidity and power those 535 people (well, a majority of them) have. (Because we Americans in our Fifty States have given them the power and continue to elect stupid, greedy, power-hungry, egotistical people to be our “servants.”) Congress is the boss.
To quote an old Foreign Legion saying: “You are a Legionaire in order to die. And Parliament sends you where you are to die.”
If the military were allowed to – ordered to – actually provide “national defense” we’d still have a navy and an air (and space) force that has a few bases outside American territory. But very few: not troops and installations in virtually 95% of the world’s nations. To protect the sealanes and our commerce, to protect the airlanes and again, our commerce. And to allow us to watch and listen to those enemies that might actually threaten our land and people at home in the Fifty States. And most of those would be in space, frankly. Or on islands and perhaps a very few ports on mainlands.
We would not have penny packets of troops in a thousand or more places around the globe. We would not be paying billions of dollars not just to American military-industrial complex bad actors, but to tyrants and dictators and plutocrats and demagogues around the world to let us keep troops in their corner of the world. Not for them to pay us “for protection” but us to pay them to let us protect them.
And meanwhile, the idiot Congresscritters (but I repeat myself) tell us that all of this is to “keep America free.” Blargh!
Even though all military personnel are getting a 4.5% payraise this month – and junior enlisted a 14%+ payraise in August, most of the billions and billions we Americans spend for “defense” really goes into the back pockets of the defense industry and the politicians. And of course, the workers in those defense industries and the shills for the politicos.
The only thing we can really trust them to do is to take every opportunity to continue to feather their own nests. Even more than another thing we can trust them to do: send young American men and women into danger (and now and then to disabling permanent injuries or death) to satisfy and justify their greed. While true homeland security and defense is nothing but another pawn, a pretend routine that is a worthless facade.
Assuming we want and can get a truly trustworthy military, it will consist of about 90% of part-time, volunteer, locally-based, and locally minded men and women. Highly trained people who will not be deployed to far-off places in the interior of Asia or Africa, or to useless bases in Japan or Honduras or even Italy and Turkey. But who will be concerned with defending their homes and those of their neighbors and family and friends. And defending their liberty, their freedom. From enemies both foreign and domestic. People who are known and accountable to their local communities. And to God.
Don’t hold your breath for that to happen. At least not in the next four years.
But maybe, just maybe, we can get things to start moving that way.
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About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.