To me, the military and war machine are just as much “groomers” as the trans promotion. It all needs to stop. It’s growth. It’s unhealthy. It destroys health, mental, physical, relationships and breaks spirits. We have to stop grooming kids. I had to share your article on FB. All too relevant. I have experienced the same heart break watching a nephew join and Aaron and I powerless to change his mind after so much hardcore fucking brainwashing.
My position has definitely changed on this issue. I used to defer to "experts" in the military, who I assumed knew more about any military campaign than I did. But I don't defer to experts in any field now that I have seen how often they are wrong, and how much they try to shape public opinion as opposed to putting forth reasoned arguments.
I am thankful I came to this understanding gradually over the past couple of decades instead of just getting hit over the head with it three years ago.
Treason is defined in the Constitution at Article 3, Section 3, as consisting "only in levying War against (the United States), or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."
All members of the American military take an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; (and to) bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
When the military is committed to foreign actions without a declaration of war by Congress, as required by Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 11 of the Constitution, that is a violation of the Constitution, arguably the action of domestic enemies.
When a member of the military participates in an unconstitutional foreign military deployment, s/he violates both the Constitution and his/her oath to "support and defend" it, giving "aid and comfort" to it's "domestic enemies," committing treason by the definition given by the Constitution.
I don’t support the troops or military adventurism. What I DO take a moment for, in my heart, is to honor the spirit of courage and commitment, whenever it appears in an individual. While the origins of Memorial Day are in the glorification of the slaughter of brothers by brothers in the interest of the authoritarian aims of a racist madman (if Lincoln’s war was so great, why do I keep hearing how racist America is, 150 years later?), I know that many young men, having acted rashly in fervor or been dragooned by the state, found themselves in moments requiring real bravery. So I don’t celebrate Memorial Day, but I do honor the rising to challenge of its victims.
Superb. I get sick of all the war-cheerleading this time of year, and all year. Not only do our soldiers NOT die preserving our liberty, but they die for NO GOOD reason. Furthermore, they are a force for evil and immorality, and deserve our calumny, not our reverence.
Kudos to you for being so bold in writing something like this. I'm not going to leap out and say I agree 100% at this point but I will say this post has be thinking and considering. I've never seen such a clear-minded dissent of the military and appreciate your honesty and courage.
Thank you, Bretigne for having the courage to write and share this. I agree 100%. And the (perhaps ironic?) thing is, I have spent the last 20 years married to a Marine Corps officer (now retired). During that time, we lived in multiple duty stations, here and overseas, and he served two 7-month tours in Iraq - one when I was pregnant with our first child, the other when that child was only a year old. When we met, I was naive (and thus ambivalent) about the military and war. But living the 'military life' kinda forces you to take an active interest in politics and foreign policy, especially in war time. And through that active involvement, I learned so much about our country's history, especially the wars we fought and (the REAL reasons) why, and the atrocities our government has committed in the name of "freedom and democracy." Much of it was shocking to learn, and resulted in a significant cognitive dissonance as I struggled to reconcile the military's propaganda with what I was discovering through my own research. Needless to say, when I shared this 'taboo' knowledge with my husband, it caused some friction (to put it mildly), as he was of course fully drunk on the military/war Kool-Aid. Fortunately, he started to 'sober up' toward the end of his military career, and now with 20/20 hindsight, his views have come to (mostly) align with mine. And we have been united in ensuring that our son, who turns 18 next year, thankfully has vastly different career goals!
By the way, are you able to provide an update on "Kate"?
I respect your right to your opinion. That said, I think you lack knowledge of the wars the United States has fought, because if you had this knowledge, you would know that we always fought for our own freedom or that of others. And indirectly, the freedom of others has an impact on us. For example, the war in Viet Nam (one of the most maligned) kept most of Southeast Asia from turning communist. That is to our direct benefit. The war in Iraq took out a tyrant who was murdering his own people in the most hideous ways. Our participation in WWII saved untold millions from the tyranny of Hitler, and make no mistake: after conquering Europe, he would have come for us. People volunteered and died to preserve your freedom. So I respectfully disagree with your position. I am aware of the corruption. I decry it. But opposing legitimate action does not cure the corruption, it entrenches it.
To me, the military and war machine are just as much “groomers” as the trans promotion. It all needs to stop. It’s growth. It’s unhealthy. It destroys health, mental, physical, relationships and breaks spirits. We have to stop grooming kids. I had to share your article on FB. All too relevant. I have experienced the same heart break watching a nephew join and Aaron and I powerless to change his mind after so much hardcore fucking brainwashing.
My position has definitely changed on this issue. I used to defer to "experts" in the military, who I assumed knew more about any military campaign than I did. But I don't defer to experts in any field now that I have seen how often they are wrong, and how much they try to shape public opinion as opposed to putting forth reasoned arguments.
I am thankful I came to this understanding gradually over the past couple of decades instead of just getting hit over the head with it three years ago.
Treason is defined in the Constitution at Article 3, Section 3, as consisting "only in levying War against (the United States), or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."
All members of the American military take an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; (and to) bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
When the military is committed to foreign actions without a declaration of war by Congress, as required by Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 11 of the Constitution, that is a violation of the Constitution, arguably the action of domestic enemies.
When a member of the military participates in an unconstitutional foreign military deployment, s/he violates both the Constitution and his/her oath to "support and defend" it, giving "aid and comfort" to it's "domestic enemies," committing treason by the definition given by the Constitution.
I don’t support the troops or military adventurism. What I DO take a moment for, in my heart, is to honor the spirit of courage and commitment, whenever it appears in an individual. While the origins of Memorial Day are in the glorification of the slaughter of brothers by brothers in the interest of the authoritarian aims of a racist madman (if Lincoln’s war was so great, why do I keep hearing how racist America is, 150 years later?), I know that many young men, having acted rashly in fervor or been dragooned by the state, found themselves in moments requiring real bravery. So I don’t celebrate Memorial Day, but I do honor the rising to challenge of its victims.
The real reasons for wars are rarely written in your high school history books. They were warring over drug trade stuff.
Superb. I get sick of all the war-cheerleading this time of year, and all year. Not only do our soldiers NOT die preserving our liberty, but they die for NO GOOD reason. Furthermore, they are a force for evil and immorality, and deserve our calumny, not our reverence.
Good for you, Bretigne. I generally go with the low-key "Yes I support the troops, I most strongly bringing them home from around the world!"
Brilliant. EXACTLY my feelings and have been for a long time. You might like this: https://twitter.com/xosallyo/status/1663524430692188161
Kudos to you for being so bold in writing something like this. I'm not going to leap out and say I agree 100% at this point but I will say this post has be thinking and considering. I've never seen such a clear-minded dissent of the military and appreciate your honesty and courage.
No, I Don't Support the Troops
by @Bretigne Shaffer
at tinyurl.com/y3fdf8yv
Here's why...
*****************************************
and neither do I
ever do support the lie
for freedom they die
Thank you, Bretigne for having the courage to write and share this. I agree 100%. And the (perhaps ironic?) thing is, I have spent the last 20 years married to a Marine Corps officer (now retired). During that time, we lived in multiple duty stations, here and overseas, and he served two 7-month tours in Iraq - one when I was pregnant with our first child, the other when that child was only a year old. When we met, I was naive (and thus ambivalent) about the military and war. But living the 'military life' kinda forces you to take an active interest in politics and foreign policy, especially in war time. And through that active involvement, I learned so much about our country's history, especially the wars we fought and (the REAL reasons) why, and the atrocities our government has committed in the name of "freedom and democracy." Much of it was shocking to learn, and resulted in a significant cognitive dissonance as I struggled to reconcile the military's propaganda with what I was discovering through my own research. Needless to say, when I shared this 'taboo' knowledge with my husband, it caused some friction (to put it mildly), as he was of course fully drunk on the military/war Kool-Aid. Fortunately, he started to 'sober up' toward the end of his military career, and now with 20/20 hindsight, his views have come to (mostly) align with mine. And we have been united in ensuring that our son, who turns 18 next year, thankfully has vastly different career goals!
By the way, are you able to provide an update on "Kate"?
I respect your right to your opinion. That said, I think you lack knowledge of the wars the United States has fought, because if you had this knowledge, you would know that we always fought for our own freedom or that of others. And indirectly, the freedom of others has an impact on us. For example, the war in Viet Nam (one of the most maligned) kept most of Southeast Asia from turning communist. That is to our direct benefit. The war in Iraq took out a tyrant who was murdering his own people in the most hideous ways. Our participation in WWII saved untold millions from the tyranny of Hitler, and make no mistake: after conquering Europe, he would have come for us. People volunteered and died to preserve your freedom. So I respectfully disagree with your position. I am aware of the corruption. I decry it. But opposing legitimate action does not cure the corruption, it entrenches it.