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XOpalMistX Wrote...

There is a group on Facebook to petition against the "Soldiers Are Not Heroes" Group.
Is it just me, or is that a little hypocritical?
Let me get this straight. They're using their first amendment right to petition against somebody's first amendment right for free speech and expression? For the record (AKA before I get hate posts) I DO believe soldiers are heroes. But why do you think soldiers fight? To GIVE people the right to free speech. Just because they use it "wrong" in our opinion, doesn't make their opinion mean any less just because it's the unpopular/immoral one. Soldiers fight to give people those rights and we're abusing those rights just as much as they are by trying to deny their group.
When i brought this up on the site, a lady told me that it was alright because they were a hate group. Hun, last time I read up on my constitution, Supreme Court extends the same free speech rights to hate groups, minus a couple little things.

What do you guys think?

I Responded...

First off, I agree that it is hypocritical of one group to use their freedom of speech to petition against another group's freedom of speech. Also, please note that if you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in it specifically for views you despise. Morality and popularity completely aside, if you don't believe in freedom of speech for views you despise, you don't believe in it at all. It's like saying, "Those soldiers are laying down their lives so you can have freedom of speech...so shut up!" I'm sure we agree on that.

Secondly, I do not believe soldiers are hero's. They do not fight to give people the right to free speech. I believe this because (1) I was a soldier and (2) based on experience talking to other soldiers.

Addressing point one, I was an Airman in the U.S. Air Force. I got out when my contract was up because I was doing nothing important on a large scale, besides the evil of supporting the destruction/invasion/occupation of countries that did nothing to our own. According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, "I was just following orders," is not a valid defense for committing an illegal action. My support of these wars, being illegal by all reasonable standards of the U.N. Charter which is bound to our Constitution by Article 6, made me a war criminal...by definition. The main responsibility falls on the leaders of the country committing Aggression, just as with the Nazi leadership at the conclusion of World War 2, but I still hold some responsibility. As far as I am concerned, the military has (overall) become a sword rather than a shield, yet many, such as you, claim it to be mostly a shield. I disagree based on my interpretation of the facts and personal experience.

Addressing point two, I have one specific story in mind, besides years of talking to people about this stuff while I was in. When I went through Basic Military Training, in one briefing by a Technical Sergeant with around about 100 Airmen, the Tech asked us, by show of hands, how many of us had come into the military for various reasons. Education benefits, travel, studying in college while in service for just two years, exotic places, health insurance, alternative to jail, a desire to shoot people, thought it'd be fun like in the video games, outdoors training/tactical training, parents kicking you out with no other options, the steady income, extra income from being in the Guard or Reserves, getting a start in life in general, or combination's of the above. Around about 30 people to half the class raised their hand for each reason. As few as five did when he asked about killing people. Basically the entire class raised their hands for the "all of the above" option.

The final two reasons he gave, and he specifically noted later that he always did this on purpose, were, "How many of you came in because of heritage? Having family in the military?" Two people raised their hands. "How many came in to serve their country?" One person raised his hand...out of 100.

He explained that he always asked those two questions last because that was always the response he got; that next to no one actually came in for those last two reasons. Now, obviously I don't know if that is just this Tech's experience, the Air Force in general, or the whole military. All I know is that my own experience over the next several years following that had the same percentage. Actually, lower. I was struck by the response in that briefing, because I had always thought that most people had come in to serve the country. I thought I'd be in the minority that was doing it for financial gain and education, but I wasn't.

So I would ask coworkers and new personnel all the time why they had come in and why they were getting out. Their goals never had anything to do with serving the country, freedom, or anything. It had to do with them having met their own goals. Now, one could argue that they enter to serve the country as a peripheral reason, but I would argue that this is, at best, a rationalization made by soldiers who have gotten out or who want free drinks at the bar. I know I shamelessly do it, even now that I'm out. So did all my military buddies, even though it was all a lie. At worst, it's a rationalization fed to civilians to make them feel like our lost soldiers were not lost in vain.

Then again, please note, this is all just my opinion based on my personal experiences, but I disagree wholeheartedly that anyone should make the claim that the military (overall) fights for freedom at all, much less specifically freedom of speech. They may exist to defend our ability to maintain our freedoms, but attacking others isn't how you maintain the freedoms at home.

So, personally, as a veteran, I'd support this group depending on their means, message, and general attitude. Plus, the FB group is hypocritical to begin with.