My nephew is six years old. He loves to play war. Almost every time I see him we've gotta go outside, armed with lightsablers (such a collection he has!) and run around whacking each other and screeching. I'm a middle-aged woman. It's not dignified, trust me. He likes to defend his 'fort' (the playstructure) and since I'm tall enough to poke at him in there I've never launched a full-scale invasion. He loves playing Army, with his matchbox cars, the little planes, lego monstrosities. He's a kid, and his dad is an Air Force surgeon, so it's not surprising that my lil buddy can't wait to grow up and enlist in the military.
But he's six. He might change his mind about that. I don't want him drafted because our next president decides that their interests are best served by provoking Iran with talk of 'obliteration' during the next few years while our current intelligence suggests they do not have nuclear weapons. That kind of talk just gives other countries more justification for building their own arsenal, as it shows the level we'll escalate to if we feel (rightly,wrongly or homespun) that our control over their part of the world is being thwarted.
I'm not 'overreacting' to Hillary's bellicose speeches over the past couple of weeks. Hillary wasn't just 'talking tough'. That's how she thinks disagreements should be solved, through threats of force and, when threats empower the opponent (as they often do) then it's time for the kitchen sink strategy. If she's president, the kitchen sink will include nuclear weaponry. She say's she intends to use it, not as a last-ditch measure, but as an alternative to genuine diplomacy. I believe her, for once.
This is no time for any US president to be playing Superpower and ratcheting up the fear and distrust much of the world has rightfully developed of our government during the Bush administration. It's time to repair the damage our warmongering has done. We need to rebuild our alliances globally, and that'll be done by working with other countries on projects we all agree are necessary and beneficial for all of us.
Hillary must have slipped into a phone booth and stolen Superman's cape and tights, because she's been feeling her (nuclear) nuggets. I wonder if she gets it that the US is no longer truly a Superpower, except as a brand.
Our military is damned near broken. They're already extending tours of duty beyond what many troops can manage. Check out the PTSD statistics after two or three or four assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. More and more troops are being killed or physically injured. And, last I hear, we haven't had an influx of new recruits to take the edge off. That's not even considering the urgent need to go back and restabilize Afghanistan, is it?
Then there's the equipment problem. It's not being replaced commensurate to what's being stolen, abandoned, demolished or just plain wearing out. They never did manage to fully equip all of our troops, from the very beginning of this fiasco.
Our economy? Does anyone still think we've got a strong and viable economy that can be relied on to suppot the regular folks back home, much less fund further unwinnable military escapades? The entire Iraq war has been financed on credit, and it's still not figured in as part of our regular budget, though some are content to have that war endure another hundred years. HOW THE HELL ARE THEY PLANNING TO PAY FOR IT? Well, my nephew and his little buddies will have to figure that one out, won't they?
Our reputation as a leader of the free world? That's been frittered away, too. We've had village idiot #1 in the White House the past 7 years. That's increased our esteem globally, hasn't it? I bet people all over the world are just lining up to have a beer with W., once he retires from the hard work of being the worst president ever. We've refused to do anything meaningful about global warming or resource management, hell, we were in total denial about global warming until last year. Bah. We've introduced torture as a lifestyle, chipped away at our own constitutional rights 'to keep us safer'. Did that work? Do you feel safer or more secure than you did before we decided to 'liberate' Iraq? I sure don't. Our education system is such a mess we can't even graduate enough bright, hard-working kids to fill the jobs in this country that require advanced degrees in the sciences. Those companies, and the ones that are on the cutting edge of medical research are setting up shop elsewhere, in places where it's not a matter of debate whether Intelligent Design should be taught in Science classes. Bah. But we're the proud instigators of Reality TV, and that makes up for all our minor flaws, doesn't it? Doesn't it???
So, to sum it up: our military is broken. Our economy is swirling down the global toilet and taking others with us. Our moral standing has laid down and died. We teach kids to pass tests, not think analytically. We have successfully depleted our country, and the world with our lack of foresight and sensible management. No matter how much we might still like to think that we're a Superpower, we're not. Not any more. And it's time our Fearless Leaders get that through their thick heads. Now! Humph.
So, back to the beginning. A vote for Hillary is a vote for the draft. If that power-hungry woman starts even one more war, if she decides (as she has told us) that we're to offer the Umbrella of Obliteration to Middle East countries whose fragile balance of power we've completely destabilized.... well, where are the troops going to come from? Somehow, I don't see any president inspiring enough kids to volunteer for a quick, but glorious death in some country they probably can't even find on the map. But if she continues to threaten enough, especially when our own intelligence can't or won't manufacture evidence to base retaliation on, well, another war is bound to break out. And I don't want my nephew to be drafted because we've voted in a president who thinks winning a battle--or even spinning winning a battle, equates with winning a war.