My god I want to join the army.
I could never join the army.
I want to join the army.
I couldn't do that.
Post anything that you want - a story, a secret, a confession, a fear, a love - anything. Post twice if you'd like. And then share the site with your friends.
My god I want to join the army.
I could never join the army.
I want to join the army.
I couldn't do that.
Published by
TintedFragipan
Tags: by TintedFragipan, life, popular post
34 comments:
Well, I thought about the army
Dad said, "Son, you're fucking high"
and I thought,
"yeah, there's a first for everything"
so, I took my old man's advice
3 sad semesters
it was only 15 grand
spent in bed
I thought about the army
I dropped out and joined a band instead
Can we please not have Ben Folds inserting his harmonic, well-put advice into my sincere internal debates?
Oh come now, tinted, by posting here you are opening yourself up to all sorts of comments and/or advice. Doesn't have to be good, and it doesn't have to be thoughtful. Nor do you have to think Ben Folds writes particularly interesting music. But apparently anon1 thinks that it is applicable. Then again.. your comment is just as valid. Hmm, I keep posting like this whenever somebody is coming down upon the tenants of Tangst. Things should just follow their course, I suppose.
haha i was going to come here simply to post those same lyrics!
Hey, Just don't Tell and they aren't allowed to Ask.
If you do repress your sexual orientation and join it will be an experience that will broaden your view of the rest of humanity like nothing else can and teach you what the phrase "brothers in arms" really means. Also unlike the rest of your generation you will have satisfied the unbidden urge that every male feels to serve.
You will learn what it is to subjugate your life in its entirety to the needs of a cause that is greater than yourself. You will accept responsibility for your society.
If you are ever under fire you will experience a high that no drug user has ever or will ever reach. You will also have many times to utilize the most terrible power that human kind possesses, to kill, extinguish a life, or not to kill. You will discover whether or not you have the self control to counter act the instinct of humans under danger to strike out violently.
You will be tested as you never have and never would be. Under this pressure you will find out who you truly are.
You may die, but for the rest of your life, if you do live, you will not be plagued by the question, "what if...". You will have done.
In short, you will have earned the right to call yourself a man.
I want to join the army to, only not for America...
But I also want to join the army so much...
^
|
|
|
"I want to join the army to, only not for America..."
****
what the hell does THAT mean? if you don't like this country, then do something to change it. going and fighting for another country isn't the answer. we need to educate ourselves, climb the ladder, and put ourselves in a position where we can actually DO something about it, not fight for another country.
The army would be a waste of my life.
Don't join the army. You're too precious a mind to risk losing to a bullet.
Please don't.
I don't know how else to put it.
I agree with Hannah. Anonymous 3 makes a convincing argument, but listen to this point that he makes:
You will learn what it is to subjugate your life in its entirety to the needs of a cause that is greater than yourself. You will accept responsibility for your society.
Is that you at all? It's not. Don't lose your individual self. There are better things you can do with your life than try to prove you're a "man" my slaughtering other ones.
"In short, you will have earned the right to call yourself a man."
Hah! What a load of crap. Do you even know what they do in the army? They kill people. You are paid to murder -people-. The army is given causes by our government that can't be supported by diplomacy or commonsense, and instead need force, bombs, and the threat of death to back up.
If you're doing it for the "high" then take some friggin drugs. Heroine willl do a lot better job I promise and will do a lot less harm to you and others than a bullet to the face in a dark alley.
If you're doing it for power, start a corportion or something. If you think that shipping over to a foreign country to flatten it's sons and fathers with shinier guns and thicker body armor is in any way virtuous or manly you need some sort of counseling.
That's the irony though. If a regular citizen of any country did what an american soldier did they'd be beaten into the pavement by a swat team and put in jail for the rest of their life. Why? Because taking the life of another of using force to place your will over their own is one of the prime evils that a human can commit. That's why every code of laws and religion denounces violence and murder. That's why slavery is a thing of the past. Becasue you have no fucking right to my life or anyone else's no matter what country we're from or what presidential policy we happen to disagree with.
I sincerely hope you can look back and say "What if..." What if I had given up my academic future to have my morals and decency stripped away under harsh physical abuse? What if I had been forced to leave my home and family to fight a cause that I didn't believe in? What if I had murdered the innocent, the freedom fighters, the men women and children of a society I never fully understood but merely labed as "the others" or "the enemy"? What if along with them died my conscience, the only thing that really makes a man a Man? I sincerely hope you're able to look back and know the answers to these questions rather than having to ask for the rest of your life "Oh God, what have I done..."
Nah, none of you guys understand.
Anon3 was trying to understand, but took it a little overboard. It's nothing so melodramatic.
I do anything I do because I want to do it, plain and simple. I just can't decide if I want to join the army more than I want to go straight to college. It's not a matter of evaluating my reasons for doing either. I never need help evaluating my reasons, haha.
"I do anything I do because I want to do it, plain and simple."
*makes a mental note to never give tinted a gun*
p.s. I have met you. Not only is it obvious that you're gay (Just becasue you don't have to "tell" them doesn't mean they can't kick you out for having a damn good idea) but you would do horribly in a combat situation. Stick to college bud.
Anonymous 6,
with all due respect, move to Canada.
You're not wanted here.
The average "murderer" in the United States Army is one of the most skilled, dedicated and professional people in the world.
The job of this "murderer" is very simple. To preserve and protect the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The way this "murderer" does this is by following the policy decisions made by the popularly elected President of the United States, and the popularly elected Senators and Representatives. The "murderer" then follows orders, which much of the time put his or her life in danger and sometimes will result in his or her death. The "murderer" knows that this can happen, but is still willing to follow orders in order to preserve and protect the constitution.
Currently, the orders that all of the "murderers" in the United States Army are following is to provide the most basic human freedom to the people of Afghanistan and the people of Iraq. That basic human freedom that these "murderers" are trying to protect in those places is simple. It is security. The right of the average person to live safely. To be able to go to a public place and exchange goods and ideas freely, without the danger of being blown up or shot by a dissident group. That is what those "murderers" are trying to do.
In the rest of the world, there are American "murderers" quietly doing other work as well. In the Phillipines we have special "murdering" teams inserted. Their job is to help the local communities provide security. They do various things to help the local community. They sponsor health clinics, build roads, build schools, and train the local police. American "murderers" are all over the world doing this kind of work. These "murderers" are much better at helping people than any other humanitarian organization.
When these fated people are forced to join the Army, by voluntarily signing up at a recruiting office, to become "murderers" they give up morals and decency by assuming standards of character and integrity that have no equal in the corporate, academic or political worlds. They give up their academic future by having their college paid for by the Army. And then they become "murderers" by being willing to travel to a place far from home, and lay their lives on the line.
If that is your definition of a murderer is, I would be proud to stand among them.
Anonymous 6, even though i hate everything you have to say, and i think you are the most ignorant, selfish, unprincipled and irresponsible person that i have met thus far in my short life, I will happily join the armed services and be prepared to lay down my life to protect your right to say it. Even though you do not appreciate Soldiers now, hopefully someday you will respect their willingness to lay down their lives to protect your right to slander them.
^heck yes.
Pretty much everything the last anon said. Well-said; I can't do any better.
With all due respect, Fragi, if it's just you trying to decide if you want to do something or not, and *not* a deep philosophical inner debate over your reasons for why or why not, why do you feel the need for outside input anyway?
"Anonymous 6, even though i hate everything you have to say..."
Well as long as we're getting personal I think you're a violent, arrogant, retard that has no place in a peaceful, organized society. Were our "soldiers" protecting the constitution in the Mexican American War? (maybe if you see a land-grab, genocide style, as self defense) Were they protecting it in the jungles of Vietnam or Korea as we pounded out our diplomatic disagreements and political ideologies abroad as the cost of countless civilian lives? Are they doing it now in Iraq after a ill-planned, premature revolution of our design threw an entire nation into chaos, causing the suffering and death of hundreds of thousands of people with absolutely no end in sight? (April was the worst month in the history of this war for US casualties and almost all generals agree that it's only getting worse)
The point is, if you become a soldier you're pretty much saying that other than a gun, a bayonet, and a pair of hands, you are absolutely worthless to society. That you will engage yourself in any conflict no matter how pointless, take any life no matter how precious, to reach ends that you apparently have no right to question. How can you have any respect for someone willing to sign away their soul to any cause without an ounce of genuine human consideration?
If you really want to help people join the Peace Corps of any number of other organizations supporting peace and stability across the world. How can you possibly force peace with the end of a rifle and a leash around your neck tied to a government whose main priority is to further their own interests, not humanity's a whole? There are thousands of better way's to work towards peace other than -fighting- for it.
As for these "soldiers" "assuming standards of character and integrity that have no equal" you're absolutely right. No proper human being in a correct state of mind would ever be willing to do what a "soldier" is forced to. Think of as many awful acts as possible; rape, theft, adultery all come to mind but by far the most heinous is taking another's life. What should scare you the most though is that after a few years of screaming and pushups an officer could make you take any life they saw fit without a wince on your part, not a pang of doubt. So much faulty cognition will have muddled your brain that another person is somehow transformed into something evil that no longer deserves the gift of life because of where they were born, the government they support, or the color of their skin. How could you go home to your family and resume a normal life once you knew in your heart that you had murdered someone who was protecting their nation and way of life just like you were? Is your life more precious simply because your bullets will be pointier, your knife sharper?
Maybe in the end there are some "fated people" in society too violent and retarded to see reason, so easily malleable that they will disregard all morals and cognition to blindly follow some central command. Anonymous, you would have made an excellent Nazi exterminator, the perfect Soviet KGB officer, or a simply stunning terrorist. But the optimist in me is still hoping that someday you will understand that killing is not a calling, nor deserving of fame nor glory. Maybe someday you will see that violence and destruction are the most awful parts of mankind that should be frowned upon rather than embraced. Maybe someday you'll join the rest of us and solve your issues with tolerance, respect, and humanity. In the mean time I can only hope you don't so anything rash that you'll only regret.
anon. 6 and anon. 9: being really cruel and defensive to eachother will not help the other side see your point of view any better. the army is not something that can be polarized into a "good" or "bad" catagory. do i agree with every step that the army takes to win wars or every deed that each soldier does? heck no i don't. but do i think that they are a bunch of useless violent neanderthals? no. like a lot of political discussions, there are so many other factors that neither of you are stopping to consider before tearing the other person apart. shame.
in short, i think that if the OP wants to join the army for the right reasons (i.e. because they would like to make a difference in the world in the way they see best fit) then it is their perrogative to do so. OP, our personal political opinions should not be a factor in your decision to do what you think is the right thing to do.
Violently anti militaristic Anonymous, have you had a bad experience with the military?
Your venomous opinions cross the line of mere disagreement and into the area of near unreasoning hatred.
"Violently anti militaristic Anonymous"
Heh, irony's fun.
And yet if everyone in all walks of life agreed that violence and military force were unnecessary, think how much more beautiful our world would be.
anon 6, that's horseshit. You can criticize the political decisions of this country all you want, but to dismiss the sacrifices of our armed forces is repugnant. You conveniently forget to mention the men in our armed forces that fought for the end of slavery, fought for the freedom of the world in World War II, and the men who continue to fight, unquestionably for freedom, no matter the motives. These men and women are risking their lives, RISKING THEIR LIVES, to defend and uphold our constitution. It's probably pretty easy for you to sit there and armchair quarterback from your computer. Get back to me when you're risking your life for anything. The sacrifice they're making is deep. Not that I have much experience, but I'm thinking that their sacrifice is unparalleled among ordinary citizens. I'm not condoning pointless violence, but you attackign soliders and their sacrifice is ridiculous and shows a total lack of judgement and perception on your part.
"Anonymous, you would have made an excellent Nazi exterminator, the perfect Soviet KGB officer, or a simply stunning terrorist."
What the hell, the Anonymous was defending the virtues of our servicemen, and you turn around and call him a Nazi exterminator. That goes of into the deep end of another freaking pool. At least present your argument in a way where people might actually consider what you're saying.
^I'm saying all killing is the same. Just becasue it's for a cause you believe in doesn't make it any more righteous. Nazi's thought they were perfectly justified in starting World War II and exterminating Jews, they thought they were doing the whole world a service by trying to unite it under the Nazi flag. The South was also "RISKING THEIR LIVES" to protect their property and keep slavery alive. Notice that a war always has good guys and bad guys and it's the bad guys who always lose? Well that's becasue whoever wins get's to say in the end who was right and who was wrong. We fight for one constitution, they fight for another, we fight for our freedom, they fight for their own. In the end, people die. All so the side who happens to be more adept at killing their fellow men can say "Hah hah, God was on our side all along."
You call what soldiers do a "sacrifice", but in the end it's just a tragic waste. I suppose you have every right to endanger yourself for a cause (going into a burning building to save a child would be just dandy), but who gave you the right to steal the spark of life from another? Think about it. Who wrote the cosmic permission slip saying that you deserve life, but Afghani Dan has to catch a bullet in the brain pan for disagreeing. Think about it and get back to me. Who gave you the right?
^ Whoa Man (or woman), You just crossed a couple more really big lines. First of all the South was wrong. They were defending a way of life where forced human labor was a neccessary part of the economy, That needed to end. Also, the Nazis were wrong as well. They started a war with the stated and clear purpose of creating "lebensraum" (living space for the uninitiated) and building a new German Empire. They annexed Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Poland to name a few, all of which were functioning established democracies.
There is no war that the United States has initiated that comes close to that.
In Iraq we unseated a dictator who had killed hundreds of thousands of his own people. In Afghanistan we destroyed a regime that vocally supported the terrorists that attacked our nation. Our intention is to leave those countries as soon as possible. Currently our mission in Iraq and Afghanistan is to establish security. We're not there to kill people.
When a group attacks an organized society, it is no longer a matter of morality. It is a matter of survival. In Iraq the insurgents intend to destabilize the civilization that exists topple it into the horrors of a civil war. We are fighting there, and yes killing, in order to prevent that from happening.
How can you condemn American Soldiers for killing innocents when the main tactic of their enemy is to kill as many innocents as possible? The American Military takes almost every precaution possible to prevent civilian casualties. But, civilians do die, and that is awful, but the evil that we are trying to prevent would result in many more civilian deaths that would be intentional.
Why does western society respect human life that much? Most humans don't do much with their lives anyways.
Jesus Christ people, it's all relative. We won the Cold War and now every kid down through second grade knows that Communism is evil and never ever works. If the Soviets had won and the American government had collapsed we'd all understand that Capitalism is the ultimate evil and we'd put complete faith in our wise communist dictators. Sure totalitarianism is "bad", but so is unequal distribution of wealth.
America can come up with thousands of justifications for every military action, but the thing is, so can the other side. As long as we live in a world where people are willing to murder, plunder, and bomb to support their laundry list of political and economic ideologies, we're forever going to live in a world of unceasing war and violence.
"When a group attacks an organized society, it is no longer a matter of morality. It is a matter of survival."
The American military attacked an organized society the day we invaded Baghdad. Now for the insurgents there it's a matter of survival to protect their way of live. We might call terrorists evil cowards, but remember in the Revolutionary War -we- were the terrorists. We were the freedom fighters willing to murder others, and we didn't even have invaders to fight against.
"There is no war that the United States has initiated that comes close to that."
Take a history class friend. Mexican-American War? Ring any bells? Our annexation of Texas and the entire southeast was just our own version of "lebensraum". Was that in any way justified? Was that in any way noble? When you sign up to be a soldier, how do you know that the next war isn't going to be a pointless one? Once you've signed that contract you agree to fight and die for America's socio-political flavor of the month whether it's annexing land, overthrowing economically disadvantageous "regimes" (political slang for a government inconvenient to a Western capitalist democracy), preventing another country from getting nukes (hypocritcal anyone?), or even knocking China down a few pegs. A soldier doesn't choose which causes to support, the main function of the army is to blow up whatever happens to be in the crosshairs, and indescriminate killing was never my cup of tea.
I'm sorry but i don't think the morality of the holocaust and slavery is relative. Maybe thats just me, but the Nazi's and Slavery are both wrong. The murder of 6 million people because of their religion is wrong. The enslavement of an entire race is wrong. That is not relative.
There is no comparison between the Americans who fought the revolutionary war, and the insurgents in Iraq. Americans first, fought as an organized army and targeted the British Military exsclusively, and were motivated by the desire to gain freedom for their country. The foreign aid they received was from France in order to thwart Great Britain.
The Insurgents in Iraq are a guerrilla force that targets civilians as one of its primary targets through terrorist tactics such as car bombs and suicide bombers. Some of them are motivated to drive the Americans out. Many more of them, and a large element of their leadership and infrastructure are members of Al-queda, an international terrorist organization dedicated to returning the entire middle east to the days of the Islamic Caliphate. Another large portion of the insurgents are disaffected citizens who benefited under Saddam at the cost of the rest of the country.
The Mexican-American War has been dug out repeatedly in this argument. It also cannot be compared to Hitlers Third Reich and Final Solution, or furthermore serve as a suitable indictment of America. First the Mexican-American war was fought mainly over the Republic of Texas. Texas had already fought its own war of independence from Mexico and sought to be annexed by the United States. When we finally did annex it, Mexico complained. Then President Polk attempted to buy California and New Mexico. In order to increase pressure on Mexico, Polk ordered troops to the Texas-Mexican border. Mexico responded to our troops by attacking them in force. We then declared war and won handily. The settlement of the peace treaty was us gaining the sparsely populated and unorganized Western territories and Mexico recognizing Texas. This is very different from Adolf Hitlers campaign to invade the entirety of the European continent and set up a new German Master races as the rulers of his new empire.
A soldier does not choose which causes they support. That is a good thing. Otherwise a professional army would not exist. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are all tools of the President and the Congress. That is the way it should be. As a soldier you give your word to carry out the orders of the representatives of the people of the United States of America. If the president determines that something needs to be done whether it is invade iraq, keep the peace in kosovo, train police in colombia, assault Iran or help people in New Orleans after a hurricane, The Armed Forces follow his orders as long as they are legal and approved by congress. Again that is the way it is and should be. If you have a problem with what the army does, blame the president and the congress and the people that you either voted for or didn't care enough to campaign against. Ultimately blaming the Armed service for Iraq is like blaming the hammer for hitting your thumb when you missed the nail. Those people are extremely dedicated to this country, more dedicated than most of us ever will be. I believe that is something to be admired and respected, not something to be condemned and villified.
Draft Dodger Rag:
Oh, I'm just a typical American boy from a typical American town
I believe in God and Senator Dodd and a-keepin' old Castro down
And when it came my time to serve I knew "better dead than red"
But when I got to my old draft board, buddy, this is what I said:
Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse
Oh, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school
And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant
I've got a dislocated disc and a wracked up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneeze
I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse
Oh, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school
And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant
Ooh, I hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies,
But I think you gotta see
That someone's gotta go over there
And that someone isn't me
So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em Hell!
Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore
Hell I'll be the first to go
my God, the stupidty and arrogance is astounding. People too young to have seen anything of the real world judging the soldiers that provide and protect the very freedom they enjoy... people bring up the Mexican American war as if todays Army and the soldiers in it had anyhting to do with that debacle... oh never mind, I had something all planned to type but what's the use in trying to reason with you? Go ahead and whine about the 'murderers' in the Army and how wrong they are; my brothers and I will keep you safe so you'll always have the right to sound off about how horrible this country and it's Army are treating you and the rest of the world. I'll stand guard, you bitch and moan... it' probably all you'll do in life.
joshua, 19yrs old
ft benning, ga
USA
WHY can't you join the Army? Did I miss why? you can, just do it if you want to. sign up for 2 years, by the time you get done with all your training it'll almost be time to leave and you can decide if you want to stay. that's what my sister did after high school
ps: she stayed and lives in Germany with her army husband, they're going to Paris next week for free on an army plane (or whatever)
Post a Comment