NO PROTECTION
I was over at Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing, where I read an interesting piece on the speech restrictions faced by US soldiers. Being former Navy, myself, this reminded me of a broader point that would occur to me every now and again while I was serving.
When you join the US Armed Forces, you take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. In return for your devotion, the Constitution will no longer protect you. You may not speak, or write, or assemble, or pray, or keep/bear arms, or be secure in your person/papers/houses, except as a privilege granted by your superiors and ruled over by one of the most merciless documents ever scripted: The Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Just take a quick breeze through the Punitive Articles, and marvel at the array of relatively common civilian behaviors that gets a soldier some serious trouble. Talk back to a superior - jail time. Late for work - jail time. Creative sex with your wife - jail time.
Look at article 100. You can be executed for taking down the flag at the wrong time.
Of course, all this is absolutely necessary to make the Armed Services an effective engine of destruction in pursuit of its mission to protect the US. There's no way around it. Running a hippy commune ain't gonna get the job done, and that's not my point.
My point is that I'd just like for American civilians to appreciate the fact that, although good soldiers often say, "I'm just doing my job," they are NOT doing a JOB. A job is something you can quit when you have a bad day. These men are voluntary indentured servants, and they serve at the whim and need of the government and they've surrendered every single Constitutional protection that they used to enjoy and take for granted. In exchange, the have the job description of "taking a bullet" for $20,000 a year in salary.
What sane person would sign up for that?
A Patriot.
And God bless them all.
posted by Harvey at 10:14:34 PM permalink
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