Originally posted by King James:
You disagree that we don't have rights? I was just preached at on another forum that I am to die daily and therefore have no right to enjoy any kind of entertainment.
Before God Almighty we have no right to anything. Our only hope is the mercy of provided through the atonement for sin made by Jesus Christ for those He chose. Among men we have many rights and, with them, many responsibilities.
I don't know about you but from what I believe and what I was taught while I was in the military was that a real soldier does his job. He doesn't need people back home "supporting the cause". He doesn't need to be a blood thirsty maniac who enjoys killing. He does his job and that's it. Soldiers don't fight for the "glory" or the slaps on the back.
My Father, by his example, imparted a sense of duty to me. I felt it was my duty to serve and my fellow citizens, especially those before me who'd bought with blood what I already enjoyed, expected it from me. The military taught me how to be a warrior. The military did not teach me to be a murderer who enjoys killing. The nation required my service to the causes they deemed necessary and placed leaders over me in that service. They also set out standards of conduct for me to follow. I was motivated, in purpose, by a sense of duty and a belief in our just causes. I was further motivated, in practice, by the will to survive, to do my part for those with me, and by fearing the consequences of failure more than what faced me. I was further motivated, in action, by the training I received, my immediate leadership, and a host of other reasons. I was kept safe by the hand God and, most likely, the prayers of my Father and Mother, and later, my dear wife. A quest for "glory" never entered into the formula and I never found it. That's about as personal as I want to get with this subject.
Most persons in their right mind have no real desire to engage in battle especially after their first real taste of it. There has to be some very strong motivation for doing what needs to be done. For most, in the end, I believe that is an inherent sense of duty - obligation - to the nation with the full knowledge that it could me being wounded or killed. For troops to do that, and to be successfully lead in doing it, there is an absolute need that the nation support the cause to which the troops are committed. If not, those troops will begin to question why they are there, doubt the value of their service, challenge the orders of their leadership, avoid the fight because of the inherent risks, and, ultimately, their morale will be broken. This is why, friends, that supporting the cause is so critical to our success. To do otherwise helps the enemies cause.
You mention justice...that's fine. Are you in favour of pursuing justice ALL OVER THE WORLD...instead of only where it suits you? If not, THAT is NOT justice and don't sit there and try to tell me it is.
America has to choose the course of action it takes based on the risks, the costs, and the potential outcomes. She has to do that with the best available information at hand based upon the situation at the time. America may choose to doing nothing in some cases, pursue endless diplomacy in others, or, when the situation merits it like Iraq, take on a military solution. There is nothing at all wrong with this. We're not obligated to solve every problem every where. We we do commit to a cause we are obligated to it and should but our best into it.
Yes the military and police are to handle things for us because we aren't to seek revenge personally. So why are there some people on here telling others to "support the cause" and go and fight? That's the military's job and nobody has the right to tell anyone to go and join the military. That is a PERSONAL thing.
The military - those in the service of our nation - are the ones we send to fight on our behalf. That doesn't remove us from the responsibility for the war. We can not all go fight the war. There are many other things that must still be done at home. We should, for the reasons previously stated, support the cause for those we send.
The nation does, indeed, have the right to require its citizens to serve in the military if required. Right now, that requires Congressional approval but it isn't being solicited because it's not deemed necessary by those responsible. The military is not some kind of business opportunity that we can choose to support or not. We do, for now, have a choice to join or not join, but really should take up our responsibility to support the cause whether we serve or not. Even the county Sheriff can require your service on a posse, for example, if it were needed although these days its not used. The local Draft Board can require your military service as many young men have found out in years past. We are free to make some choices but some are made for us.
Now...if you go back and read the part of my quote that you responded to...I am talking about Christians not having the right of self defense. I don't know how we got into the military, etc.
We got into the "military" topic because the subject of this thread was about how the military is handling the detainees at Guantanamo.
