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joelove
Joined: 12 May 2011
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 Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:53 pm Post subject: Do Americans praise their military way too much? |
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I'm just an ignorant Canadian guy, but damn, just from watching Family Feud and other nonsense it seems Americans really love their soldiers. Why is that?
"Thank you for serving our country."
"I did it out of the purity and goodness of my heart."
"I know you did."
"I'm from Bumfart, Alabama."
"God bless you, son."
"I really needed a job."
"Yes, and being a wonderful person, you chose to defend our great nation."
"Uh, yeah, sounds good to me."
(I know it's just TV and that not all Americans think this way, blah blah.
Why the hell is it presented this way?) |
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:24 am Post subject: |
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'Heroes'  |
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I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:30 am Post subject: |
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What do you think when you hear someone say, "Thank you for serving our country"?
I tend to think it is more like, "Thank you for slaughtering defensless people all over the world in pursuit of American imperialism."
How is that anything to do with "protecting" America! |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:41 am Post subject: |
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| Not really. They are just bunch of lawyered answers designed to not cause offence that people say when they are on camera. However, US soldiers are better educated these days and are doing a better job than the previous cutthroats and boyscouts. Think about it, there aren't that many armed forces in the world that are 'feared' at the moment. Traditionally the British SAS, Gurkhas, French Foreign Legion, Sayeret Matkal and so on were feared because they 'killed'. Now US forces kill too, with IMPUNITY. Wanna say somethin' about them? Two words: Predator Drones. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 4:12 am Post subject: |
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The U.S. military is a great thing.
Dictators don't invade other weaker countries because they are too afraid of the U.S.
America = a force for good in the world. |
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I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 4:59 am Post subject: Re: Do Americans praise their military way too much? |
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| joelove wrote: |
I'm just an ignorant Canadian guy, but damn, just from watching Family Feud and other nonsense it seems Americans really love their soldiers. Why is that?
"Thank you for serving our country."
"I did it out of the purity and goodness of my heart."
"I know you did."
"I'm from Bumfart, Alabama."
"God bless you, son."
"I really needed a job."
"Yes, and being a wonderful person, you chose to defend our great nation."
"Uh, yeah, sounds good to me."
(I know it's just TV and that not all Americans think this way, blah blah.
Why the hell is it presented this way?) |
Joe,
How do Canadians feel about their military?
I have heard from fellow colleagues that they generally don't give a damn one way or the other. The Canadian government has even tried to withdraw veterans from receiving needed benefits after returning from Afghanistan and forcing into retirement those who are disabled. The article I read also noted that Canadian businesses do not make any effort to employ veterans once they return, unlike in the U. S.
There seems to be a significant contrast in the support given to veterans with the more militaristic culture south of the border.
Last edited by I'm With You on Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:06 am; edited 1 time in total |
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I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
The U.S. military is a great thing.
Dictators don't invade other weaker countries because they are too afraid of the U.S.
America = a force for good in the world. |
Not if that dictator falls in line with U.S. foreign policy interests. Then such dictators can murder, steal and invade with impunity.
I generally dig your shit here, but where do you get your concepts from on the U.S. military being a good thing for the people of the world? |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:47 am Post subject: |
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| andrewchon wrote: |
| Wanna say somethin' about them? Two words: Predator Drones. |
Perhaps the Taliban and Al Qaeda should just throw in the towel, no more beheadings at weddings, beheading innocent Iraqi policemen and other civilians etc. Also people living in regions where the predator drones rove around should stop inviting there militant brothers and friends etc. to their weddings.
Last edited by young_clinton on Sat Jan 25, 2014 6:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:58 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Dictators don't invade other weaker countries because they are too afraid of the U.S. America = a force for good in the world |
That's right and in the same manner Guatemala doesn't invade Belize because the British military is there.
| I'm With You wrote: |
| Not if that dictator falls in line with U.S. foreign policy interests. Then such dictators can murder, steal and invade with impunity. |
The main emphasis in maintaining the dictators was to keep out the communists, which have a far worse track record.
| I'm With You wrote: |
| I generally dig your shit here, but where do you get your concepts from on the U.S. military being a good thing for the people of the world? |
There are many think tanks that would avow that the American military is a good thing for the world, These think tanks are not just in America, many in Europe also. |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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The US military is great if you are 1) a defense contractor 2) a US corporation whose monetary interests are being protected 3) European, Canadian, Korean etc who are getting their national defense largely subsidized 4) China and other large trading nations who are getting the freedom of shipping lanes subsidized.
The US military is terrible if you are a US tax payer or an innocent prisoner in Guantanamo or one of the millions of innocent people killed due to its war mongering. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Millions of innocents killed is inaccurate. More like millions saved. (The U.S. does everything it can to minimize civilian casualties.)
How do you know there are innocent people in Guantanamo? Have you been there? Do you speak Arabic? You don't know everything going on behind the scenes. How could you?
Human nature contains a lot of evil (or at least the potential for it). The U.S. does it's best to mitigate that. World problems are complex.
The reason there is no World War III is the U.S. has nukes.
Steven Pinker wrote about the decline of violence worldwide. That is due in large part to the power of the United States. Try to build an empire by preying on the weak, and the U.S. will strike back against you. Dictators know that. Very few ever make the miscalculation that the U.S. will stand by and do nothing. That's why there are fewer wars between countries nowadays. (Very, very few in fact.) |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Does the old factoid that two countries with McDonalds have never waged war still hold? |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
Millions of innocents killed is inaccurate. More like millions saved. (The U.S. does everything it can to minimize civilian casualties.)
How do you know there are innocent people in Guantanamo? Have you been there? Do you speak Arabic? You don't know everything going on behind the scenes. How could you?
Human nature contains a lot of evil (or at least the potential for it). The U.S. does it's best to mitigate that. World problems are complex.
The reason there is no World War III is the U.S. has nukes.
Steven Pinker wrote about the decline of violence worldwide. That is due in large part to the power of the United States. |
How can you NOT know that many of the people in Guantanamo were/are innocent. Not even the people who put them there believe that.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/former-state-department-official-team-bush-knew-many-at-gitmo-were-innocent/275327/
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/publiceducation/2012_08_30_Public_Education_Innocents_Guantanamo/
Nothing would motivate me more to blow up US targets and turn to terrorism than being wrongfully jailed by a foreign government. Good job there US govt. You just created more potential terrorists. |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
| Does the old factoid that two countries with McDonalds have never waged war still hold? |
"At least two wars between McDonald's hosting nations have occurred since the NATO bombing of Serbia: the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon; and the 2008 conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia." |
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