The Voluntary Military and Peace

Ayn Rand


If a country’s government undertakes to fight a war for some reason other than self-defense, for a purpose which the citizens neither share nor understand, it will not find many volunteers. Thus a volunteer army is one of the best protectors of peace, not only against foreign aggression, but also against any warlike ideologies or projects on the part of a country’s own government.
C:TUI 226

 This statement captures the essence of liberty, which is peace. And Rand grasps the concept that volunteerism to military duty, is correlated to self=defense and not ideological commitments, or agendas! No one likes to be co-cerced. Co-cercion demeans and demoralizes humans and treats them as commodities or of expendable value.
 
That means that to remain a free people we must not war along ideology (religion or politics) or  independent agendas (without co-operation/negotiation). It becomes complex when there are so many agendas that clash with another's. And what about a nation's values if they conflict with another's? Will there be  consensus building in determining how to go 'forward"? 
 
Diplomacy is needed more than ever today, because the world is wrought with so many conflicts. The wars our country is involved in now, have not been declared "wars" by Congress from the beginning. Though there needed to be some response to the 9-11 incidence,  was there consideration about all the reprecussions?. Self Defense is important for any entity that has separate interests or distinction. This is important to the nation-state herself! We have to maintain a "voice", otherwise, the nation-state's distinctive voice, will loose power and then, only a few will be heard. And just as the individual without any "voice", the minority position, power will win over and enslave all of us!
 

The Military and American Unity

Today, on NPR, a Princeton professor said that ROTC was to be welcomed on the Ivy League campuses. The reason given was that our culture had suffered because the elite schools are sending their graduates in to  every avenue of service; business, law, government, international relations, and, yet, they are not impacting the military, nor is the military impacting them. I applaud this attempt to unify our diversity. Because it is when we all have a unified vision that doesn't negate our Constitutional Republic that we all "win".

Intellectual development does have its bias, because of coming to terms with the philosophical complexity of "the world". One seeks to commit to a certain area of knowledge and "give back" to society in that given area. But, the unfortunate implication of the military being banned from the Ivy League schools, is that those students that are our brightest are not prone to use their gifts in service to their country. And the ideological commitments that do not value our Constitutional Republic  has brought about the culture wars of today.

I applaud and I am very happy to hear that there is openness to serving our country during her greatest need of great minds.

Peace and Its Process

During this Christmas season, a lot of songs are sung about "peace on earth" and "goodwill to men". These are nice images that don't parallel to the real world of politics. Peace is not experienced in many parts of the world. And the clashes are over ideology, power, material gain, and sometimes even one's very identity.

People who try to work for peace find it difficult, gruelling and sometimes, unrewarding, unlike the "merry Christmas songs" that promise romanticized fantasies.

People that have their feet grounded and understand that politics is dirty business will also understand that the lesson to be learned is sometimes to move on. One cannot force "peace", as co-ercion is an oximoronic term to peace. Sometimes, America has been accused of working in this way by miltary force. But, how else are we to "make peace" when otherwise, there will be bloodshed?

Nuclear weapons are supposed to be limited by treaties, but we also know that treaties are only as good as the people who "shake on it". The leaders of each country must be people that will uphold their agreements, and protect the treaties boundaries. Oftentimes, treaties are breached for one reason or another. And many times it is the differences in our value systems.

Humans have various needs, individually, and corporately. And it becomes a complex endeavor, indeed, to try to understand how to unravel the strings, so people will live in/with understanding. I do not have hope that there will ever be a day where peace will rule the earth, alto this is what we sing about at Christmastime.

Military Rules in Today's Deployment

I have stated before that my husband and I admire the military, because the military believes in ethics. They do not condone fratenization, adultry, or disrespect for authority. The military believes in "team effort" and pursuing the ideals that made our country great. The military is a great tradition to be involved with.

Westpoint's motto, "We don't lie, cheat or steal and don't tolerate those who do", is the motto of character. I value the training that our men and women in uniform submit to, for the sake of liberty. These lay their lives down willingly for the sake of democratic ideals and our national interests.

Today, I was listening to a program on NPR that had a former military commander, a professor of military law from Yale, and others that were talking about he recent General's pronouncement that anyone found to be pregnant during their service under his command in northern Iraq would be court-martialed. It is my understanding that the pronouncement was tempered a bit. But, the lawyer from Yale said that if this pronouncement was challenged in the courts, it would be upheld. The military "owns" you. And with that, a woman called in to say that she was a former military wife whose husband was told by his commander that they owned his body. One of the other officers had gotten sunburned and was disciplined, because no one should be in any condition that subverts their readiness to serve.

I respect the military's commitment to the ideals of our govenrment and their commitment to one another, as team members serving the same goals. This is an environment any business envies and tries to emulate. Productivity is high in this environment, because of the voluntary nature of entrance, one understands and knows what he/she are serving and why.

The military is not respected by some that think that a pacificist stance is more true to the ideals of humanity's interest. But, this commitment is based on an idealized view of man, where man is not prone to the "disease" that free societies call oppression, and the religious term "sin".

The military will always be needed and should always be applauded not because of what they have to do, but what they protect and what they value. These are the ideals that free societies uphold, even by force, if necessary, because otherwise, none of us will be free for long.

Fort Hood's Execution

"An eye for an eye" was the Old Testament balance for "justice". An "eye for an eye" limited revenge to fairness. One could not kill another because of the loss of an eye. Maybe this is the measure we should meet out with such crimes as happened at Fort Hood.

Everyone knows by now, that this will be a military trial, which is fair, as it was on military soil and the military suffered the loss.

I do applaud many news organizations for prefacing their "news" with qualifications of "innocence", because we are a people that believe that one is innocent until proven guilty under a trial by jury. I am glad for this.

But, I am not satisfied with everyone tiptoeing around the connection of Islam to this man. He was a Muslim. But, to protect our nation from an uprising that would hinder the climate of tolerance, news sources cover over the details that might suggest a religious motive.

The athiests are crying for a banning of religious freedom, because of their fear of radicalism, while the conservative religious believer is adamantly holding to their right to "free speech" and free belief. The climate in America is at a boiling point over issues concerning religion, race, and "rights".

I grieve for the loss of these soldiers, but I also grieve over the loss of integrity for this psychiatrist. He needs help. I am hoping that an "eye for an eye" will turn out to be a measure of justice as the trial commences.

Let us hope that this will never happen again within military quarters and that military personel are all aware of the consequences of being "politically correct", when there are valid concerns and ultimate costs of lives.

Liberty, "Two Sides of One Coin"

Yesterday's fall of the Berlin Wall, today's celebration of the birth of the Marine Corps and tomorrow is Veteran's Day set the theme for today's post. So, the theme should be about Liberty, shouldn't it?

Liberty is fragile because of people. People have goals, agendas, visions, worldviews, and opinions that conflict. And when conflict happens, then liberty is at stake. One side cannot make demands on the other without subverting liberty.

In the book I have been reading, Democracy and Dictatorship, Bartu, suggests that there must remain tension between two distinctive ideals, for liberty to survive. Man's very psychological make-up is made betwee two type of consciousness; rational consciousness, and unconsciousness or feeling. When one or the other rules the society, without acknowledging its tension with the "other" ideal, then liberty and justice will be denied us all,. The individual must be affirmed in society for liberty to be maintained. Society is formed of individuals.

Governments are protected by holding tensions between the immanent and the transcendent realms. Fascism suppresses the transcendental dimension of life by the secular myths of leadership and race, while the Communists call the trascendental dimension empircal and immanent and work accordingly.(pg.66).

The critical mind must affirm both the ideal and the real.
Democracy survives only as Christian ethics and the individualistic ethics of competition survive. How do these two co-exist in one society? America has done a good job.

All of these (and there are many others) provide a climate where tolerance can flourish and becomes a value. This is an American "ideal"; tolerance for diversity.

Today, Americans celebrate our liberty because of others who sacrificed for our liberty from those that would only affirm "one side of the coin". America's ideal is our diversity and holding to public debate and discourse about differences of opinion, conviction and values. Let Liberty Ride On.

The Wrong Side of Multiculturalism

Today, emphasis is put upon multiculturalism in the name and for the sake of tolerance. Tolerance is a value in Western society as it civilizes what otherwise, would cause conflict. I am in totol agreement with this "ideal", but the reality is, that many do not adhere to plurality. Plurality takes humility of mind and heart and exlusivist religious claims do not allow such tolerance.

Fort Hood's "battleground" was to be a place of safety where "liberty and justice rules" and "peace reigns", because of our liberal democracy. It is to our detriment that we "tiptoe around" the issue of radical faith claims.

It seems obvious that the man that killed these soldiers in cold blood was doing so for religious reasons. Yes, there were political differences, but the differences were basically underwritten by this man's religious convictions. This view is not open to pluralistic views or values, because it views any "other" as "infidel". How can we tolerate such thinking and being in our society? or at least in our military?

When men/women pledge their allegience to the cause of our nation, they give up the right to digress from serving what leaders deem necessary for our nation's interests. Those that think that there is a higher or more primal loyalty do not need to be pledging their allegience.

Those that think that societies can live without police officiers are living in an a disconnect from reality or are in mental institutions. Crime happens and people get hurt, should we look the other way? Should we tolerate such things, or worse, should we dissolve the "force" of the police officier because we think the police officier is the "problem"? Of course not!

Our military do similar things in the larger context of "world affairs". Whenever nations rise up against another, should we looke the other way? Should we dissolve the military of any "force" because they are the problem? Or should we evaluate our values and determine whether this is a cause that justifies our nation's interest and the interest of a "free world"?

The world does not change in this regard. We will always have need for law to bring order and the police and military are the enforcers of what is "right" in the "free world" under law.

My Heart Goes Out...

My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in the most recent attack on those who serve our country.

I can only imagine in my worst nightmare having a loved one come home from a dangerous location, to have them shot within our" protected boundaries". These men and women had shown bravery and self-sacrifice for our nation's defense. And these also represented their loved ones hearts and their giving to our country.

Why would someone do this?

It is supposed that there was a "conflict of interest" for the one that committed the crime. He had not wanted to be deployed and was against war. Why did he join the military, then? Although we do not seek out a war, the military are called to defned our nation, if that is necessary. Was he under the impression that he could be in the military and not be involved with war, at all? It all seems strange to me.

How did he have access to the weaponry? And was the attack "planned" or premeditated? It would seem it would have to be with the wearponry he had.

Many questions, but only one known answer if for sure. Questions about the why, when, where and how, but only one answer for our military; duty, service, and country.

What Kindergarten Didn't Teach...

Kindergarten does teach the basic principles of respect and proper behavior, where it concerns my "rights" and another's, but it does not teach that even when one does what is appropriate, others may not behave appropriately. Welcome to the real world, where kindergartners "grow up" and recognize that the world is not a safe, secure, and predictable place. The world cannot be kissed and it will all "go away". No, the problems are much deeper than that.

Our society has given "rights" to minorities of every stripe; race, religion, ethnicity, class and gender. But, in giving our full approval of "rights", we have come to devalue some of the basic foundations of our society; the family, the community, and the church (as America's "tradition"). These were the foundations upon which any society is built. The foundations of our identity is grounded in these important 'communities".

The family is the child's first encounter with "life". In the family, he learns about trust, a basic necessity for any healthy personality. The child learns about the values the particular family holds and he internalizes parental "messages".

The community where one works and lives is another foundational association that has made an impact upon the maturing individual and maintains a sense of support for the adult. The community is where one comes to understand cultural values and political power.

The Church is the foundation of how one understands himself in the larger world, God's world. This world is not confined by the former, but is understood within a "frame". The "frame" is not absolute, but is valued for its function in bringing a bearing upon questions about life.

In America, the family is falling apart, and the Church seems to have no means of addressing the problem, as Christians are getting divorces at the same rate as those who are not affliated with Church.

The community is struggling with the outcomes of failed marriages, and damaged identity. The schools and teachers attempt to maintain a sense of "order" that used to be expected. Now, children and teens are rudderless. They have no guidance at home and little concern from other significant others. Communities throughout America struggle to address the budget crisis that is due to over-stretched budgets at home. The stress pours over the lines of "common decency" and sometimes end in an angry defiance in criminal behavior. Others respond to their crisis in addictive behaviors that undermine individual potential.

The Church does not know how to address social problems, as the standard line for conservatives is to "maintain the standard" (of biblical behavior). So lives go untouched because no one wants to admit their humanity. Fear drives the hypocrisy that maintains the religious facade, until it cannot be denied anymore. The real struggles of real human beings boils to the surface and somehow breaks free from the "standard" of scripture and cries out to be heard. And the Church is dumbfounded!

There is nothing new under the sun and the Church is a social organization, that can be so unhealthy and dysfunctional. Honesty is not forthcoming as one must maintain an image. The image that is imagined to make one "set apart" from others. There is a self-righteousnessness that smacks of pride and superiority in these camps. Not many want to affliate for too long with these, unless there is such a deep need to be accepted that the obvious abuses of relationship is overlooked.

Our nation is facing real crisis of gigantic proportions; economic, moral, social, and national. We cannot be duped to dicker over the finer points of lesser identities.

America must address her domestic problems. But, also She must address the problems she faces abroad. What do we do about Iran, N.Korea, Afghanastan, etc?

At a time of such crisis, we must not undermine our national securities, investigating the CIA. Where are the promises that we would let bygones, be bygones. Is it that distraction and blame on another adminstration is the "point"?

Our men in service are in dangerous territory and they do us 'service" because they believe in American freedoms and want to see these freedoms defended abroad. Are we to betray them by undermining a "force" for their protection?

I am concerned that power given to Obama to shut down the Internet, will be used subversively, in undermining one of the main protections of a "free society"....The Press! We cannot allow those in power to be unaccountable to the American people. The media must inform us, this is their duty, as well as their job. Their duty is to honor our Bill of Rights. We will not remain a free society without a free press. All dictators begin with propaganda, control of information. This would be tragic.

So, no one learns everything they need to know in Kindergarten. That it, if they want to live in the "real world"!

An American's View of Value

While my husband and I were in Europe, our youngest son was sworn into the U.S. military. We value the military for its commitment to democracy and upholding and protecting our Constitution, under the authority of our president. But, our values were not the value in most of the European friends and family that we know and I begin to question why this was so....

While sitting with some European friends at dinner, we were sharing about our children and when we shared that our son was going into service, the wife questioned how I felt about that. I sat quietly, at first, as I weighed what I would say. And then, I compared service to the military with the husband's job at Phillips. Although one may not agree to every decision that is made by company managers, there is an overall agreement and upholding of company values and vision. This was similar to anyone that wanted to serve their country in the military.

Our country's values of "ordered liberty" is a value that we take for granted. We must not take these freedoms for granted, but be indebted to our fore-fathers for forseeing what the costs would be if there was no protection of these values.

All of the Europeans that we spoke to and we questioned about the European Paraliment could not give us a concrete vision or purpose for its establishment. Granted that there must be a way to order the vast differences of the individual European countries. The problems have resulted in unification at the sacrifice of individual identity. And this is one reason why Switzerland has not joined the European Union.

Our son's life is being committed to the values we have upheld for him, because we believe that all men are created equal, not in aptitude, but in innate being, as a human being. Human dignity is the basis of human rights, which some religious do not value. We should not apologize for these values, for they represent the highest form of moral order. We tolerate the intolerant at our detriment and our demise. How do we protect those who do not know they "need" protection, or do not value liberty, because they have not experienced it? I don't know, but I am so thankful to have had the freedom that we have in America.

Americans, and anyone who values individuality should uphold American government and defend its ideals. Our family has given their lives for these ideals to be protected and we think this is of ultimate value!

It So Bugs Me....

Yesterday I was writing about justice and how justice is equality under law. Of course law is dependent on those who rule, but in the West we have a rational base for discerning what is "right", which our nation protects with our military.

Today while scanning over some of the blogs I usually read, I found one aguing against the Pentagon's spending in reference to how many 'nets" could be bought in Africa for 5 years! This statement alone angers me. While I wholeheartedly agree that government in gerneral overspends in their budget. We will disagree as to how that budget's money should be distributed!

The statement that the Pentagon was unworthy of existing because of the "poor" is just nonsense! This is the devaluation of sovereignty as a nation and a push toward a "peace" that will not happen in this world. So, though some may value their life's calling in serving the needs of the poor, that is not the only value that is of significance and value. I really cannot stand someone, especially someone with power, like the media, brainwashing the "brain dead" with "moral evaluations" that are one-sided opinions or convictions. It just enrages me.

The Pentagon is representative of protecting the values that we hold most dear. We must not devalue their service, nor the service of the military. We cannot maintain a nation, protecting our interests without a miliatary. We are fools if we think that those who devalue and hate our culture will "go away"!

So, ar those who need nets in Africa of value? Yes, but that has nothing to do with our nation's interest and we cannot be just a nation of "humanitarian aid"!

Privatization of Veteran's Insurance, and Universal Healthcare for Everyone Else

I had wondered why Michele Obama and her husband made such a "fuss" over the military, when their policies seem so contrary to conservative values. Obama proposes to pull the military out of Iraq, which many average citizens believe to be a good idea.

Tonight it was reported that there was a breech of security issues concerning the new head of an intelligence area, Deutsch, while loosing his secret clearance under the Clinton adminstration and getting a pardon. He had maintained military secrets on his personal computor and now he is being appointed to oversee a major area of our security.

Obama recently declared his intention for development of a universal healthcare system, but backed away from the rhetoric concerning this major issue, when he "heard" the outcry of the American people about the economy.

How do I think these are related? Well, to be honest, I think that the military is being undermined by this proposal. Although it was reported that it would be defeated from "all sides", the mere suggestion of our military serving in harm's way and not being benefitted by our government, while government benefits AIG? I suspect that the private sector is licking it chops at the prospect of government contracts in the healthcare industry. The privatization of military insurance, is just a step toward government control of all of our healthcare. It is creating "class envy" through putting before the public the fact that the military is being taken care of by the government. Remember "Clintoncare", when Hillary headed up her committee on healthcare, only to be held accountable by the Sunshine Law...which demands freedom of information. The average Joe, if not given the the real agenda, will be led, on the heels of the anger toward corporation bail-out plans, that they need a "piece of the action". Entitlement is the name of the game when it comes to our populace and their "goals". And "class envy" is a means to get government control with acqueiscence, and the "leaders" will hold the power and the treasury.

While entitlement is an obesession with "rights", "rights" nevertheless, should be given to the individual in choice of vocation, healthcare, and general 'way of life". The dignity of the individual demands that government allows that freedom.

I am hopeful that our country is waking up before it is too late. And I hope that there are people that hold government accountable to the Constitution and other laws that would protect the "common man" from the overstretched hand of government control.

Social Construction, the Human, and Outcomes

Social structures are to benefit man in giving a social context. Social context makes meaning out of life. These contexts all have different authoritorial rules that make the groups distinct from one another.

Sometimes social structures can be limiting to human development. These social contexts hinder human flourishing because of their limited viewpoints, understanding, or "world". A human must leave these contexts, so that growth can occur, but it is done sometimes at great costs emotionally. These contexts are the contexts of family, religion, and culture. While family may not necessarily be a "bad" environment, the young adult cannot grow fully without coming to the full realization of "self" apart from familial identities.

Religion is also a limited view on understanding one's "self", as religion contains the ways of understanding God, which impacts ways of viewing life. Ways of viewing life are contained within cultural systems that understand history in certain ways. So, culture is also limiting to understanding a broader view of the world.

While none of the traditional roles of social construction are necessarily bad, they can hinder the fullness of development, if it confines understanding to them. Free societies allow the young adult the ability to learn and grow beyond the intial ways of life in childhood.

Some Christians would believe that this would be anathema to the "gospel" as the "gospel" is about culture, the "right" culture. Culture being the rules of dress, and specified behavior in speicific situations. There is a narrow understanding of life in its vast diversity, and even then, there is a determination to convert other "worlds" into their limited view.

These Christians understand family in ways that do not allow diverse viewpoints, as the parents are to teach what is "right" and the children do not question, but respond in obedient submission. Children in these environments have difficulty leaving their absolute understandings behind because of their enculturation at an early age.

The Muslim woman who wrote a book on her struggle to come out from under the brain washing of her culture within her family talks about this. Even after being educated at a European university, and having a career in government, she struggles with what was engrained on her memory. Cults of all kinds work this way, as they are mind-control ways of social control. These cults have many ways of shaming and controlling their subjects. These subjects are not allowed freedom of expression because the heirarchal leadership hold the reigns of power concerning "rule-breaking". Humans have a herd mentality, for the most part.

Our country seeks to free countries who have repressive regimes, because individuals within these countries suffer. Suffering is not a virtue in American society. Suffering is considered a hinderance to a free person, because suffering means subversion of independence in self-governance.

Self=governance is only useful when character has been formed where the young person has come to understand that his life is one among many. That his convictions, while valid, are considerate of another's different convictions. Free societies can only survive if citizens understand their duty to the nations' "good". The military trains and teaches these concepts of duty, honor and country. The respect for truth telling is evident in West Point's motto, of non-tolerance to those who lie. The military system of respect for authority is one born out of a realization of our country's values that depend upon it. Freedom is not won without sacrifice.

Evil must be resisted, as evil does not quietly die, is not done away with education, or undermined by diplomacy. Evil is determined to subvert, intentional in its goals, and disregarding and disrespectful of anyone who gets in the way. Evil breeds deception, suffering, and intolerance. Evil must be stopped.

So, while social structures are natural means useful for human flourishing, they may hinder human flourishing due to "outcome based" goals that are deterministic, which hinder individual freedom and choice. Outcomes are the goals that subvert independence, and creativity, because they are specified beforehand. Parents who choose their children's vocations, hindering their child's self-determination, get in the way of the child's development. Evil subverts like that and it must be resisted.

Rumminating.....

This morning I have been thinking along several different lines, and I hope, as I write this, that it will come together in some coherent whole.

The first thought on my mind this morning was how blessed I am. I was and am thankful.

The second thought came this morning after reading about Gaza, an editorial and a letter to the editor in our morning paper. It seems that agreement will be made between Egypt, France and the U.S. as to border control, to disrupt the smuggling of arms to Hamas. The editorial was commending a letter that was written to the editor. In this letter and the editorial it was contrasting the priorities of meeting a child's request for "a blanket" and some other necessary essentials. But, it suggested that Americans have skewed priorities, as we spend so much on our national security, in light of this child's request. I find it such short-sightedness that one can suggest that the child's need will even be met without freedom. Freedom is of necessity in having a choice, which is mandantory in meeting any request or other need! I am sure the writer and editorial meant well, as this was a valid need and concern for the "little amongst us", but I find it simplistic and simple minded to think that a child's need comes before a properly ordered government!!! This is why much humanitarian aid does not get distributed, so I think it is an absurdity to say that Americans should dissolve their miltary and use the money for humanitarian aid!!!

So, if I had the choice, I would work on/in government, rather than in humanitarian aid!