Exclusive to STR

December 17, 2008

Times are tough and getting much tougher. Stocks are down as well as the number of decent jobs. This is bad news for everyone but the government and its war machine.

All branches of the military are meeting or exceeding their recruitment goals. They openly give credit to the poor economy for their success. I guess when the corrupt government and its beneficiaries can't keep from destroying the economy and destroying millions of peaceful civilian jobs, there's really not much else a worker can do than to support that corrupt government and its cronies by becoming a member of its war machine.

Before deciding to join the government's military, a person should look past the hype the recruiter dishes out and also look past the cold, hard cash the government promises them. They need to ask themselves what the bottom line will be if they decide to join the military.

The inescapable reality of being a member of the government's armed forces is that you serve some of the most corrupt and incompetent politicians known to history. You put your life on the line and take the lives of others for cheaters, thieves and liars who infect the halls of Congress and the White House. Why would anyone knowingly do such a thing?

In addition to the disgusting reality of actually being a servant to the dishonest and shady politicians, you run the real risk of killing innocent civilians and of being killed yourself. Currently the number of dead Americans killed in the unnecessary war in Iraq is 4,209, while the number of dead Americans killed in the unnecessary war in Afghanistan is rising fast with no end in sight. For the reasons both wars are unnecessary, please read this column.

When making your decision to sign up, you should look past the heroic and romantic images of being a proud warrior that the recruiter's office and Hollywood are full of and realize that there is a very real chance you may not come home as you left. You may, as is evidenced in the picture to the left, return home without any hands or with only one complete arm, or worse. A fellow former Marine, Fred Reed, who spent time fighting in Vietnam , wrote an outstanding column about the realities of offering yourself up to the politicians as a member of their war machine. He mentions things the government and its recruiters don't like to talk about, things like colostomy bags and wheel chairs.

Another important reality to keep in mind when thinking about signing up is the reality that the big shots who run the show couldn't care less about you or yours. A great example of this that flies squarely in the face of all the hollow and meaningless speeches given by the war pigs about how they honor and respect the troops is made clear by the documented fact that years prior to the war in Iraq, Pentagon officials knew that roadside bombs would be a very deadly and serious threat to American troops. What did they do to protect their dear troops? NOTHING! Are these the people who you want to serve?

Instead of serving the corrupt and crooked, you should do what is truly important and desperately needed: work and organize others to bring down the rotted and self-serving system. As the economy continues to crumble, people are going to be asking tough questions that require real answers and which the government is not capable of answering.