This is going to upset a great many folks, and could label me as some terrible, horrible person.
But here goes:
The men and women of the Armed Forces are not fighting for my freedom, your freedom or anyone's freedom for that matter. Before you pick up a patriot rock and hurl it at my head, let me say that I did not mean that in way derogatory toward the military. This country needs a military and I respect those who volunteer for it. It's a damn shame when some constitutionally illiterate sends them off to another country, which did not threaten us, and when the soldiers are killed he declares they died for our country defending our freedom. No they didn't! At best they died for someone else's freedom; at worst they died for some megalomaniac's hunger for power.
The only time (as far as I can figure) a soldier fought for my freedom was a Colonial Soldier during the Revolutionary War, and maybe those soldiers who fought in the War of 1812. How can I say that? Simple. Our sovereignty as a nation was in jeopardy during those wars; and it has not been since. Our ability to live our lives as we choose has not been threatened since we chased the Red Coats across the Atlantic.
If a soldier is fighting for my freedom than why haven't I seen them storm the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, City Hall or the IRS? If they are defending my freedom why can't I smoke a joint without fear of arrest? Why can't I add a patio to my house without the local zoning bureaucracy giving me permission? Why do I need the State to give me permission to carry a gun? Why can't I buy a Cuban cigar to puff on the next time I go fishing without a fishing license? Why were Congress and the White House able to pass FISA and the Patriot Act without a rocket launcher pointed in their direction? And while I'm at it, why can't I buy booze on Sunday here in Indiana? Why wasn't the Supreme Court shown a little "Shock and Awe" when they declared the government could steal our property for any reason it damn well pleases? I am also tired of the bumper stickers and billboards which read "Enjoy your freedom? Thank a vet." Though I respect the men and women who serve in the military and believe they should receive far better compensation; they are not the guarantors of my freedom.
After the Vietnam War, I do hate the way the returning soldiers were treated by many people—that was wrong. However, it was just as wrong to mistreat the "draft dodger" when they returned from Canada. On one side you had the soldiers who felt it was their duty to obey an unconstitutional draft and kill or be killed in Vietnam, because Uncle Sam told them to. On the other hand you had those whose conscience would not let them take part in an illegal war and fled their homeland to keep from being forced to kill someone. Frankly, I'm not sure who had more guts.
Here are just a few nuggets to chew on concerning some of the wars this country has been involved in:
The Mexican/American War was started over "Manifest Destiny"--the notion that the U.S. had a God-given right to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. President Polk believed in "Manifest Destiny" and after his offer to purchase California was turned down by Mexico, he sought about gaining it by force. Where the politicians at the time came up with the notion is beyond me, and it certainly is not sufficient reason to send troops to die for.
The Spanish/American War was spawned by a "false flag" operation which caused the sinking of the USS Maine. To this day the actual cause of the Maine's sinking is in question, but it was most certainly the justification the U.S. government wanted to declare war on Spain. From this war the U.S. gained control over more land: Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. I am of the opinion that blood is far too high a price to pay for land.
On the morning of December 7, 1941 the U.S. was not officially involved in World War II, but it was dabbling in it. In 1940 the U.S. Navy was enforcing an oil embargo to Japan. One must wonder if Japan was actually instigated into attacking Pearl Harbor. Would the U.S. have entered the war had Japan not attacked? At the time the American people were against it, but the politicians (in particular FDR) was all for it. Would Japan have attacked Pearl Harbor had the U.S. not had an embargo against them? Of course there is the very real possibility that FDR had foreknowledge of the attack and did nothing about it, thus guaranteeing the U.S. entering the war. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox has gone on record to make this possibility seem far more likely to be true. "Prior to December 7, it was evident even to me... that we were pushing Japan into a corner. I believed that it was the desire of President Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Churchill that we get into the war, as they felt the Allies could not win without us and all our efforts to cause the Germans to declare war on us failed; the conditions we imposed upon Japan — to get out of China, for example — were so severe that we knew that nation could not accept them. We were forcing her so severely that we could have known that she would react toward the United States. All her preparations in a military way — and we knew their over-all import — pointed that way." (Vice Admiral Frank E. Beatty, "Another Version of What Started the War with Japan," U. S. News and World Report, May 28, 1954, p. 48.)
The Korean and Vietnam Wars were fought all because of the meddling of the CIA. The CIA was entrenched in both countries attempting to subvert their governments. The claim at the time was to thwart the growing communist movements in both countries. Hey! That worked out didn't it?!
The prelude to the Vietnam War was an alleged attack on U.S. ships in North Vietnamese waters on August 2, 1964. The U.S. citizens were told that a ship had been torpedoed by North Vietnamese forces and President Johnson used this as a pretext for war. In a Sony Pictures presentation titled "The Fog of War" U.S. Defense Secretary at-the-time Robert S. McNamara admitted that this incident never happened—U.S. ships were not attacked. This was another false flag operation sending more soldiers to their deaths.
In the 1990's President Bill Clinton sent troops into the former Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop rival factions from killing each other. Why? Allegedly, to put a halt to genocide. But the fighting amongst these groups has been going on since who knows how long. Catholics killing Muslims killing protestants killing catholics killing protestants killing muslims killing catholics. A vicious cycle—yes--but a vicious cycle that was none of our business. How was the death of our soldiers in this conflict for our freedom? It wasn't.
Now we have soldiers dying in Iraq for mythical WMD's. The only think Iraq was guilty of was refusing American dollars for their oil and only accepting Euros. Yes, it's for oil. U.S. soldiers died so that the U.S. government could give Exxon Mobil (U.S.), Shell (Netherlands), Total (France) and BP (England) no-bid contracts for Iraq's oil
(http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1816599,00.html)…so much for "Iraqi
Freedom."
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