The Original Internet Political Quiz.

[sapphi_snake]

@Farmageddon:

I can't determine hat a person will do, but I can be pretty sure how people work. There's a higher chance the world won't be here tomorrw than there is that everyone will just wake up behaving like they would in your perfect world.

I was watching MiB yesterday and K says something which is pertinent here. "A person can be smart. People are dumb".

But people can change, one step at a time. You should be aware that I'm not advocating for clapping my hands and the whole army disappearing (unless that happens to armies all around the world).

No it's not, it's actually the best shot at making something work. Would you travel to the artic with summer clothes?

Well with all this golbal warming stuff who knows...

And I'm not saying you should be "corrupted by other people", only that you can't really expect people as a whole to suddenly start working differently over night and you can't really make a good decision expecting that, as it wont be an informed one.

You need to start resisting the tide, or else the tide will sweep you away. Just think of all big changes that happend in the world and in society. They all started with people deciding to not take things as they were anymore. I'm not expecting results overnight, but even if it is baby steps, you still need to make some steps, else you're obviously standing still. Worrying so much on the "how" and being so afraid of uncertainties and change will lead you nowhere.

I'm not arguing what's the best option, but telling you that many times most people don't even see an option. Sure, some other people or in some cirtuntances many people don't care if there's an option. That was my point earlier, you have to assume this as part of the world today, because it is. This people will do it when there's a big cost for them. Imagine if there was no cost. Imagine if you're the free target.

People are stupid indeed.

Mandatory draft has nothing to do with it. Here in Brazil for exemple we have mandatory drafts and still just about everyone who's actually selected to serve wants to.

You're lucky, in other countries people have no say in it.

It may not be the same in other places with that, and sure, if the war keeps going and people keep dying we'd eventually be called, but still that doesn't mean someone who didn't want to serve won't feel like it's the right thing to do given the situation we'd be on. Say someone invades your country and starts killing people and shit like that. You'd be angry. Most angry people want payback, they feel they're entitled. Are they right? Doesn't really matter. They wouldn't normally want to serve but now they wanna fight. They feel they have a valid cause.

Acting out of vengence can lead to unwise actions. Just because they'd feel angry doesn't mean they'd be right. Also, most contemporary wars have not been like that, and the fact that questions aren't asked and superiors are followed blindly means that peopel will end up fighting unjust wars. Just take a look at the US's current conflicts. Anti-globalisation terrorists made out to be more dangerous than the Soviet Union. The soldiers may believe they're doing the right thing, but that doesn't make it so.

But ones shot at living (and his conrads') is pretty much tied to being effective in the battlefield, and taking rders is a big part of that. That's a pretty good cause too, don't you think?

That's is an excuse meant to distract from issues like the justification of the conflict.

Also, what about independency wars? People gave up their individualitys in order to achieve "freedom". Obeying in the army is just a means to an end.

Ghandi didn't really use much violence to help free India.

Anyway, the real assholes are the higher up guys, not the average soldier. Being a martyr is giving your life for a cause you believe in. Doesn't matter if the cause is right or wrong or if it even really exists, the "movement" you make is the same either way, and it's just as hard to do and as "noble".

So are the Nazis (not the superiors, but the regular guys) also martyrs? At the end of the day if you beleived in a cause tha twas wrong, you're just as wrong and as evil as the cause.