Peons Dictating Policy

The parentheses are my corrections on this person's jumbled grammar, but the point they are trying to make is noteworthy.

(I) have no idea what a person goes thru (through) in the Armed Forces. They get shit given to them on a plate long before they get their first buzzjob. It does not matter what U.S. Policy is, if we have a Dem or Rep Admin, they are Gov. (government) Property. They don't choose what happens to them. They honor there (their) contract with you the people. So if you propogate that bullshit regarind (regarding) anything you really can't control, remember, you are insulting a normal guy or gal who stood up and said what the fuck, I will fight to the death for you.

The reason I put this quote from the Rants and Raves portion of San Diego's Craigslist up here is because I've heard a grumble from people (including my favorite comedian, the late Bill Hicks) about soldiers being to blame for the overall idea of war. Let me be the first to burst that bubble. People in the military are NOT to blame for going to war. The administration is. As for all the little things that happen during the war, like "friendly fire" (what a phrase), that is the military's fault. But the overall strategy is set by the head honchos. They dictate policy, they send us to war, and they tell us where to go. We do the job they tell us to do. End of story. This should be apparent to anyone with a modicum of cognitive abilities, but I've actually heard people on radio talk shows talking about how it's the soldiers who are to blame for going to war. I really find this hard to believe that someone thinks that a peon in the military is dictating policies and setting up major strategies. And even moreso because they have a popular medium to get this to the people. It's pure drivel.

A minor update to this: In my experience in the Navy, I have not ever thought of it as "fighting to the death" for anyone. It was more like the segue (and financial help) to get into college and also to get out of the shithole town I was living in at the time. The Navy isn't like that at all and I don't want someone to get that impression. This was meant for the people who have or are fighting for a war, as in ground troops. Not that you shouldn't appreciate what the Navy does, but at least consider the fact that for the most part, Navy people are well taken care of and don't really think of it as being in the military. It's more like a bad job that you can't quit and it takes a lot to get fired from.