Above: A meetup with newspeople who ask questions.
Sponsored by a local Invisible Veteran chapter.
It feels like a society where honest and meaningful ideas stand up to questioning and discussion, but the questioning and discussion rarely takes place. Even for life and death situations, the verbal bumper sticker may be the closest you get to an adult conversation or honest news reporting.
If You Don’t Vote, You Can’t Complain
People pick whatever church they want to attend. They may change their mind over time. They may choose to attend no church at all.
No shaming, no scolding, just a personal choice.
Voting and major political parties taking turns in power has gone on for decades. The current USA 250 version of life is what you get.
Democracy Nonsense
If we live in a democracy (many people say so), when do we vote on decades of undeclared/unwon DOD wars?
The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.
Look for newspeople and school teachers to ask zero questions in these areas.
Don’t lie to people and maybe they would be more patriotic.
Freedom Isn’t Free
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.
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, the Pentagon seems to specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
Men & Women are sent into life and death situations in distant lands. We are told they are defending American rights and freedoms.
If all this is important enough to send The Troops into harms way, when do we get to ask basic public policy questions related to how all this works?
The Fantasy Newsperson Asks:
How would American freedoms be any different today if US troops were never sent to Iraq?
Thanks for Your Service
Consider replacing the phrase:
“Thanks for your service”
With:
What do you think about all this?
To me, this would come off as more respectful, thoughtful and meaningful. It could lead to discussions people might learn from.
The “Thanks for your service” phrase may have come from some sort of post-Vietnam guilt.
The guilt doesn’t seem to work towards staying out of undeclared/unwon wars.
Possibly of interest:
Most And Least Meaningful Federal Holidays