American culture is big on talk. Not so big on discussion or aking questions. The Troops, Freedom, The Constitution. It’s all good for talk, school assemblies and pregame rituals.
Reality does not match up with the talk. The right time to discuss this never seems to come. A big election season isn’t the time. The talk will be of political parties and personalities. Maybe spouses, maybe dog breeds.
It took a constitutional amendment to prohibit the sale of a glass of wine-why no constitutional amendment to authorize a federal prohibition of marijuana?
How Do The Troops Defend The Constitution?
Not asking about the oath of enlistment. Asking about what happens after the oath has been taken.
The constitution requires a formal declaration of war.
The Dept. of Defense has a truly poor track record of winning undeclared wars since DOD was established way back in 1949.
Americans Are OK With Lies
May 28, 2020 WMAR
Salisbury Mayor deploying to Africa with Maryland National Guard
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
December 21st 2019 KOMO News
Legal age to buy cigarettes, vapes raised to 21 nationwide
“Signed into law by President Donald Trump Friday as part of the new $1.4 trillion spending bill, a new measure prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.”
Someday, when US troops leave Africa, what will become of American rights and freedoms?
Someday, when US troops leave Afghanistan, what will become of American rights and freedoms?
Local press:
“For the past couple of years, the Whidbey News-Times paid the insurance for the Veterans Day Parade, about $200, because it was a small way of saying thank you to the men and women who sacrificed so that we may have our liberties, including our Freedom of Speech.”
Were US troops sent to Vietnam so that Americans could be free to send letters to the editor?
Is there any case in which the US Armed Forces have been sent to distant lands on a mission to protect freedom of speech?
Is protecting freedom of speech even part of training scenarios?
Military Town – Hometown Pride
4 Stories The Puget Sound Press Will Not Question Or Report On
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs staff as authorities prepare for the Super Bowl.
Sorry, no time for newspeople to ask:
Did the advantage of US air power allow the undeclared wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be prevented, won or shut down?
September 27, 2019 Whidbey News-Times
Sound Off: Freedom doesn’t come free, and it’s sometimes noisy
“…the men and women of the armed forces guarantee our freedom…”
1967
Did the Joint Chiefs of Staff send The Troops to safeguard American freedoms?
Was it the Viet Cong that set up laws in 16 US states to prohibit interracial marriage?
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store.
Each November, school teachers across America host Veterans Day assemblies– and promote the idea to children that The Troops are in distant lands-fighting for American rights and freedoms-as if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
In Washington State, these assemblies are mandatory.
The VA tells teachers that The Troops are Defending Liberty and Freedom.
Love to see a student ask: If The Troops fight for your right to sit, stand, kneel, etc.-why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Love to see a student ask: If the wars aren’t won-how can they protect our freedom?
Love to see a student ask: Whatever happened to lessons about Armistice Day?
Congressman Derek Kilmer:
Wars are for freedom and democracy.
Glorification of military service / total nonsense:
One of the nation’s largest, oldest and most respected veterans organizations:
WA Secretary of State
“Our right to vote has always been protected by the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”
If a right to vote has always been protected by the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?
Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?
If a right to vote is protected by the US Armed Forces, what becomes of that right when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
Veterans give rights?
It turns out The Troops were in no hurry to enable all adults to act on their right to vote.
US Military operations conducted in the 1940s, 50s & 60s didn’t get the job done.
It wasn’t until July of 1971 that 18 year old adults could take delivery on one of the freedoms we hear so much about.
Men Died For the Right to Vote?
Right To Vote Linked To Military Operations/US Troops in Distant Lands?
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms-The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Legal marijuana, concealed carry of handguns, semi automatic rifle sales, federal minimum drinking age, sports betting, voting rights, bump stock ban, interracial marriage, gay marriage, tobacco sales, open container laws, etc.
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
Just Be Honest.
Stop with the glorification of undeclared/unwon wars in distant lands.
Maybe Get Away From The Bragging About Freedom?
Growing Up In The Cold War Era
The US Armed Forces – A Giant Civil Rights Organization?
The TV
Bruce Springsteen is out looking for freedom in his Jeep. Marketing agencies have not decided on showing masks in TV ads. Bruce wears no mask as he rides through the frozen heartland of America with the top down. Is that a battery powered Jeep? Probably not. Bruce has a newspaper with him and he is writing on a Cold War era spiral notebook.
Bruce,
Years ago, it was understood that some people preferred to smoke. Some preferred to be vegan. Some preferred to eat meat. Some preferred electric cars, some preferred a powerful truck to pull a horse trailer.
We don’t ask voters to pick the two most popular churches and make plans for government to eliminate the rest because they may be spreading misinformation.
A live and let live attitude is fading.
Will the powerful truck to pull a horse trailer still be OK?
The idea is to live in a free and honest society.
Suppressing Choices – One Size Fits All
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