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Everything has two sides. Thanks to arms race, militarization; Human race advanced and will advance forward. Internet, computers, and so many other things we ta

Everything has two sides. Thanks to arms race, militarization; Human race advanced and will advance forward. Internet, computers, and so many other things we take for granted today are developed thanks to military ventures. Also, military technology is probably one of the coolest, tech-savvy things we will ever have.

rvense 5y ago
There's absolutely nothing cool about the military. https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
- deanCommie 5y ago
  When I was a kid I absolutely thought the military was cool. My kids books had fighter jets, aircraft carriers, tanks, and soldiers. And that was all awesome and badass. Now I have a toddler, and I think it's appalling that kids books include this machinery amongst the same pages as firetrucks, ambulances, passenger jets, and cruise ships. It's completely fucked up how we normalize weapons of war and indoctrinate our children into thinking they're cool. Look, I'm not naïve. There are parts of the world in active military conflict. If you are in Ukraine or South Korea, you have a very legitimate reason to be preparing to take up arms in a military conflict. But just because it might be "necessary", doesn't mean it's "cool". War means death. Unnecessary human death. Military technology are tools for maximizing unnecessary human death. As a secular humanist who believes we all have only one finite life to live, every unnecessary death is an unforgivable tragedy.
  - m0llusk 5y ago
    It is not completely fucked. You can only reliably retain that which you can defend. Fighting demands discipline and extremes of performance. Martial arts and dance play similar roles for children for good reason.
    - deanCommie 5y ago
      "You can only reliably retain that which you can defend." leads to "The best defense is a good offense" leads to proactive military interventionism policy like the invasion of Iraq because "Saddam is a threat". Did anyone in the US seriously feel that they were in danger of losing something in America to Saddam? Does anyone actually think today that China is going to invade and occupy the US? Not saying NOBODY in the world has to feel this way. Taiwan surely does. Ukraine surely does. South Korea. A dozen other places in the world.
      - m0llusk 5y ago
        As a young gay man I got so much practice at avoiding rocks and other objects thrown at me that when dodge ball came up at school I was almost impossible to hit. This might have been a kind of victory, but being unable to hit others with projectiles means I was unable to claim victory and ended up being even more of a freak in everyone's eyes and thus even more of a target. Now I am in my mid fifties and the accumulated assaults on my person have given me an immense amount of combat experience. It makes me sad that you are so unable to come to terms with the intense violence that is pervasive in your society. Perhaps you can work out your anger toward preparedness by throwing rocks at people.
  - eesmith 5y ago
    “I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.” -- FDR

rvense 5y ago

There's absolutely nothing cool about the military. https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html

deanCommie 5y ago
When I was a kid I absolutely thought the military was cool. My kids books had fighter jets, aircraft carriers, tanks, and soldiers. And that was all awesome and badass. Now I have a toddler, and I think it's appalling that kids books include this machinery amongst the same pages as firetrucks, ambulances, passenger jets, and cruise ships. It's completely fucked up how we normalize weapons of war and indoctrinate our children into thinking they're cool. Look, I'm not naïve. There are parts of the world in active military conflict. If you are in Ukraine or South Korea, you have a very legitimate reason to be preparing to take up arms in a military conflict. But just because it might be "necessary", doesn't mean it's "cool". War means death. Unnecessary human death. Military technology are tools for maximizing unnecessary human death. As a secular humanist who believes we all have only one finite life to live, every unnecessary death is an unforgivable tragedy.
- m0llusk 5y ago
  It is not completely fucked. You can only reliably retain that which you can defend. Fighting demands discipline and extremes of performance. Martial arts and dance play similar roles for children for good reason.
  - deanCommie 5y ago
    "You can only reliably retain that which you can defend." leads to "The best defense is a good offense" leads to proactive military interventionism policy like the invasion of Iraq because "Saddam is a threat". Did anyone in the US seriously feel that they were in danger of losing something in America to Saddam? Does anyone actually think today that China is going to invade and occupy the US? Not saying NOBODY in the world has to feel this way. Taiwan surely does. Ukraine surely does. South Korea. A dozen other places in the world.
    - m0llusk 5y ago
      As a young gay man I got so much practice at avoiding rocks and other objects thrown at me that when dodge ball came up at school I was almost impossible to hit. This might have been a kind of victory, but being unable to hit others with projectiles means I was unable to claim victory and ended up being even more of a freak in everyone's eyes and thus even more of a target. Now I am in my mid fifties and the accumulated assaults on my person have given me an immense amount of combat experience. It makes me sad that you are so unable to come to terms with the intense violence that is pervasive in your society. Perhaps you can work out your anger toward preparedness by throwing rocks at people.
- eesmith 5y ago
  “I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.” -- FDR