We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
I'm not a fan of the Marine Corp. First of all, those guys are extremely rude. I have spoken with many of them, and they always say the same thing: "If you haven't been in the military, then you don't have the right to an opinion." And if you ask any of them why they joined the Marines, they can't give you a reason. Unless "First to go, last to know" is a reason. The Marines are rude, entitled, insulting, and uneducated. That's not the way it's supposed to be. But nowadays, our government wants the Marines to protect homosexuality, female combat troops, black civil rights, and financial secrecy. Tons of military money goes missing, but the Marines don't care. Their job is to strut around in the fancy uniforms, sneer at people, and label themselves as "Heroes" even though they haven't done anything.
My concern about the armed forces in general is this: We aren't supposed to have a huge standing army. The military is supposed to be made up of volunteers. It's not supposed to be a "Career" with retirement, and housing, and special benefits. But the whole thing has been perverted, so now the military is a giant political organization, with its own objectives. I won't get into the fact that our military headquarters are shaped like a Pentagon, which is the communist symbol of cooperation. But I will say that communism has become the driving ideological force of our soldiers. They are taught that homosexuality, illegitimacy, state control, and feminism are the defining features of the American Way. But that's not true.
The American way is personal liberty; combined with the Christian ideals of hard work, responsible behavior, careful instruction of the children, and the sanctity of the home. A nice country full of nice people. But right now, we have a nasty country full of angry people. Partly because the military has abandoned its moral responsibility to educate young recruits on the importance of liberty, and the dangers of communism.
The Marines, and the other branches of the military are now communist. Have you seen all the new black female officers?
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps."
My dad served three tours in Viet Nam as a 1st Division Force Recon Marine. Arguably the most elite warriors in the history of man up to that point, but he refused to be called a hero. He told me once that he didn't expect everyone to serve in the military, and he certainly didn't think most people could be a Marine. What he did expect was a little gratitude.
Was he a rude asshole? Sometimes. He didn't suffer fools, if that's what you meant by your silly comment. If you had the balls to say to his face what you wrote he'd probably break your nose. But like most Marines I've ever known, he was loyal, dependable, and put his country above everything but God.
I think most people join the Marines because they want to become the toughest sonsabitches that ever lived and because they love this country. I would be careful expressing your stupid opinions in their company.
Jack, you made a good point: If I criticize the Marines, they will assault me. Everybody says that. But why do Marines have the right to assault people? Are we supposed to live in fear of our own soldiers? It's this sort of attitude which causes me to dislike the Marines. All of them make outrageous claims of patriotism. But in fact, most of them have never seen a day of combat. And what's worse is that they really don't believe in freedom of speech. They sneer at you, and say that snowflakes don't deserve freedom.
I only know you through your comments in this blog. Based on those you're a self-centered, obnoxious, bigoted, racist, and offensive person. If you act this way in person then I wouldn't be surprised if a lot people come off as rude to you, civilian and military alike.
I wish I knew of some reputable (Charity Navigator approved) USMC or USA or USN or USAF or USCG very programs. So many of them bleed most of the money to "administrative expense" (i.e. exec salaries & advertising) it's difficult to know who to trust.