Good morning Steem.
Last night I did my introductory post and I listed most of my achievements during my military service. Many might think that I was petting my ego, but the reason for it, was so that you would know that my posts do not come from a place of no experience. I "served my Country" for fourteen years, and have since been faced with the issue of what I could possibly do to make amends for the evil I participated in so fully. Without me and many like me, the corporate State would not have had the power to destroy dozens of sovereign Nations and millions of innocent lives.
Many of my fellow Veterans wear command ball caps, or ball caps displaying their branch of service, I choose not to do so. I wear a plain black ball cap with my Warfare speciality pins from my uniform. Black to signify the death, destruction and coercion desired by the death cult that I participated in and the Speciality pins for Surface and Submarine warfare to publicly acknowledge that I was more of an expert than most of my Navy comrades.
Most sailors in the Surface fleet, while I served, never spent the many months to qualify Surface Warfare Specialist, and very few Submariners had earned that qualification, (All must qualify Submarine Warfare), most of those earned it while stationed on a Submarine tender, not deployed with a carrier group, actually conducting operations. If there had not been complications with my neck surgery, resulting in my discharge, I would likely have requested duty on a carrier to complete the trio and qualified Aviation warfare as well, such was the level of my ignorance and programming.
In any event, many people ask me if I am a Veteran, and, of course, I say yes. They immediately respond with the post Viet Nam programmed phrase "Thank you for your service!"
What a completely inane, meaningless, ignorant and ridiculous statement that is.
To prove that point, I started responding with "What service, exactly, are you thanking me for providing?" One would think I had asked them to solve a calculus physics problem, by the look on their faces. Most eventually say something about protecting them, and ensuring their freedom, few say protecting the Constitution, and one female police officer said bluntly "That is between you and God, I don't want to know the specifics." which I guess was probably the best response I have ever heard. Honest at least, but a bit disconcerting, considering it was coming from a law enforcement officer. I hope she does not expect the same courtesy for her "service"... But I think she probably does.
What service did I provide? Smedely Butler answered that question in detail in "War is a Racket". A must read.
https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
I did not protect any American, nor the Constitution, nor freedom, nor spread democracy. I was a tool of the corporatocracy, pointing the biggest gun in the known history of the world at everyone, to ensure that competition for the banking system did not exist, that resources and cheap labour would be freely available to ensure maximum profits for the corporate few, that fear and terror would not pass from the Earth, thus ensuring the reduction of freedom, safety and security for my fellow people throughout the world, you, myself, my children, and now my grandchildren.
You're welcome...