On the concept of "service": From the Ayn Rand Lexicon and The Objectivist magazine, March 1963: The concept of “service” has been turned into a collectivist “package-deal” by means of a crude equivocation and a cruder evasion. In the language of economics, the word “service” means work offered for trade on a free market, to be paid for by those who choose to buy it. In a free society, men deal with one another by voluntary, uncoerced exchange, by mutual consent to mutual profit, each man pursuing his own rational self-interest, none sacrificing himself or others; and all values—whether goods or services—are traded, not given away.

This is the opposite of what the word “service” means in the language of altruist ethics: to an altruist, “service” means unrewarded, self-sacrificial, unilateral giving, while receiving nothing in return. It is this sort of selfless “service” to “society” that collectivists demand of all men.

Being willing to fight for freedom is a noble thing, I think. It makes me feel terrible that are soldiers are just sent out there just to benefit the politicians

I think warlike inclinations are inherent in most European countries and are just dormant right now

The US soldiers have been the pawns of the politicians for a long time now. The politicians aren't preserving our rights, but are just pursuing their own personal goals. They wage war and then pay for reconstruction-all with printed money

Indeed brother.

If one accepts that the only legitimate purpose of gov't is to protect the individual rights of it's citizens, the US has not been involved in any legitimate war since 1812. Speaking as a drafted veteran of the Vietnam War, at a bare minimum, the wars of the latter half of the 20th Century have been acts of aggression on the part of our gov't. It has little to do with 'political correctness' excepting the bastardization of the English language and the kidnapping of ideals such as patriotism, heroism, valor, honor, bravery, and service.

So, whatever is going on in the Mideast at this point is no more sacrifices than the million or more sacrificed since 1812. Freedom was lost a long time ago beginning with the conscription acts of the Civil War. On top of that, deaths of citizens at the hands of our civilian police since 9/11 has far exceeded deaths incurred in combat. So I would argue that ignorance of inalienable Individual Rights and the intents of our Founders has been the larger travesty against freedom, and we have no one to blame other than ourselves.

your integrity and some of your wisdom are a part
of my conscience, so "this bud's for you!!!" -- j
.

as Rand proved, by serving yourself, you served us
as well -- to the extent that our regulated system
would let you. -- j
.

and there are those who would vote for our political
people who are making this happen ... again.
and again. , and again. -- j
.

Whole hardheartedly agree. If there is no reason to not kill whoever the bad guys are, stay at home.

By the same token, the last time we were free to fight and win was when my dad was ground pounder "touring" Europe under Patton. We have given up everything since in a foolish effort to win "hearts and minds".

Then only way to "win hearts and minds" is to kill the bad guys UNTIL they BEG us to stop hurting them or they are dead, dead, dead. The libtards cry about the civilians who are killed - and truly that is a shame. But keep in mind that these are the same people who elected the bad guys, allowed them to flourish and as soon as the snake they are sleeping with shows it's fangs, they will go running for sanctuary in another country.

If you think I may be saying they deserve to die, you are so wrong. But if they get killed running from a snake they raised, I can only say sorry.

Lots of Germans who voted for Hitler survived and that's ok, but I'd never turn my back on them, I'd wait years before entrusting somebody with such low wisdom from voting again. The soldiers - trust them to vote this week, but not the people who put them in harms way.

I have no idea how to gracefully bow online and my wheelchair wouldn't let me if I did :) But thank you.

PS you never know when I'm lurking out here...... :)

None of the "conservative" or "liberal" or "other" leaders have managed to curb the political correctness insanity or the continued departures from military leadership of those that advocate for the job. The direction of this nation will not be changed; freedom has been lost. Those who believe a good offense is the best defense of this country have been misled. When the likes of Obama, Pelosi, and the current candidates for the presidential office are correctly identified as evil and the roots of discontent, we may have a chance. Don't count on it. When the people of a nation recruit warriors, elect a commander in chief who sends them to war, elect representatives who draft more warriors and enrich themselves from regulating not-just-war materials, pay taxes to support a military far in excess of that required to defend our shores and rights, and then you ask me to make sense of it? After putting guns in our hands and ordering us into harm's way, we may go to die or go to jail. If warriors survive, the people of an ungrateful nation call them killers, spit on them... Tell yourself that the people are not responsible for the actions of their leaders. Tell yourself that the "civilians" are innocent bystanders. If you think that even the knowledgable people are shell-shocked, that isn't it. Brainwashed. And it is the unknowledgeable products of our public education system that have turned us all into victims of political correctness. I tire so quickly of the polls, the lack of candidates, the absence of statesmanship, the pablum of the media. Above all, please do not thank me for my service. I did not serve. I was employed. I worked. I was very successful. But I did NOT serve for 31 years on active duty. I supported and defended the US Constitution, but I did NOT serve the people.

star, it is good to hear from you! . take care and
please "check in" when you can. . to your health! -- j
.

Yes Sir!

Added point. Topical.

If each of us could offer the least amount of courtesy and graceful acceptance to another human soul, we (we vets) would feel our sacrifices were meaningful. Sadly it often seems that humanity is sacrificed on the alter of secular humanism.

Thanks JP. Be well my Brother in arms, be well.

As I have posted many times, the job of the military is to kill people and break things, to bring the enemy to a point of capitulation. The military is not the Red Cross. The military is not a religious group. It exists for the defense of the nation and that defense in order to be meaningful, must be aggressive to the point of becoming an offense. Anything other than that and you have a waste of money, lives, and eventual loss, not only of the battle, but in its most extreme, the nation.

I thought the PC war had been lost, ( Just in case any is PC I mean no offence in the following statements ) I can no longer call a black person a nigger, The nursery rhymes have been altered to reflect this too. I sure that every one can think of examples of the PC lot interfering, Strange that a black person can call us honkey or whiteie! ( Again no offence intended I'm just using the terms for demonstration purposes only)

War has always been about fat rich politicians making deals. The soldiers are thrown under the bus. I have a friend who was a pilot during Vietnam. They were told what they were allowed to bomb, but told to stay clear of anything owned by the Rothschilds in that country. Even when it complicated the job and jepordized their own safety. Ware is treated as a screenplay, not a real mission, yet our guys die for it. When the likes of Pelosi show disrespect for the military, it sickens me, and her need to control how we interrogate prisoners is ridiculous. The treated Patton like an enemy. They cut short the Desert Storm march, when they could have been in and done. We the people are told one thing about why we need a war, but the fact is, it profits someone in DC.

Incorrect, our troops have been sacrificed since the Korean war for no purpose that is beneficial to the USA. I have engaged with many young men who have been sacrificed either mentally or physically from Vietnam to the middle east today. What did we gain from Korea, an A-HOLE dictator that we feed, from Vietnam a memorial in D.C. that has been defaced recently and of course our illustrious leadership is send more troops to the middle east to get back areas that we had but lost. They the politicians involved in these activities are just plain old stupid.

+1, even though reading what bowing and scraping servile wimps Micro-manager-In-Chief OPC has turned the command of the US Navy into just now really turned an old dino's stomach.

Heartily agree. We don't ask salespeople to be accountants or IT to be.. Well, they're kind of the exception.

Soldiers are soldiers. They have one job and they do it extraordinarily.

I agree. War is almost always total B.S.

I contend that it is immoral to send troops into harm's
way ... with rules of engagement which dis-arm them
and cause their deaths. . the commander-in-chief
should be charged with their murders. . like in
Benghazi, where the hacking of a server may have
resulted in knowledge of Stevens' location and the
poor defenses at the embassy. . thus, he and his
compatriots became easy targets. . no one is
accountable. . they should be. -- j
.

I think that knowledgeable, thinking people are a bit shell-shocked by what they're seeing lately. Hence, the lack of response. Many of us are like deer in the headlights...haha...

PC is an abomination.