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Is it possible to be anarchist/communist yet still be in the military
I'm suffering from some cognitive dissonance because I've been exploring the communist, anarchist, socialist scenes in my state and agree wholeheartedly with them, yet I still really want to join the U.S. Navy and become a corpsman (which also seems to be a contradiction to the philosophies). What do you think about this? Can I still be a part of this movement and serve in the military?
I really want to work on the hospital ships, but even if that doesn't happen, I want to be a medic in the military…mostly for personal reasons but also because I come from a military family.
You cannot claim to fight capitalism and willingly be a soldier for a capitalist state, let alone being one for an imperialist power like the United States.
The question that must be asked is - why do you want to join the US military? Culture? Tradition? Paying for education? The desire to get revenge on others for September 11th? As far as I am concerned it depends on your motives. And no, it doesn't mean you can't be a leftist, but some rationales for joining the military would require a level of cognitive dissonance with any leftist discourse you endorse.
Socialist Party of Outer Space
Yeah, willingly becoming an agent of imperialism doesn't seem like the most revolutionary move
I think I can understand where you are coming from (maybe)
There was a time too where I was very interested in an alternative to office work or other mundane labour, and craved the opportunity to die before having to think about what to do with my life.
Unfortunately there don't seem to be any decent socialist militias around (otherwise I'd be there)
I'm in the Air National Guard, one year left on my contract. Joined so that I could continue going to college.
Ever think about working the civilian version of a corpsman; some sort of paramedic/EMT.
@ Nakidana;
Military training actually put me more at odds with the military culture.
You would have to participate in waging imperialist wars on behalf of the US. IMO this doesn't square with anarchist/communist beliefs, but I'm sure you'd be able to make up an excuse for yourself. Shit, we've had people on here who participated in the war in Iraq, and found it perfectly acceptable to throw stones at Iraqi children to "keep them away".
Either that or your military training would soon turn you away from communism.
The good news is that if shit really hits the fan you'll probably be right back with us as a VAW.
I'm happy to hear that, but not everyone is so resilient. Military training carries with it a certain mindset and culture, if you don't resist it you become susceptible to it. I'm not against learning military skills btw (use of weaponry, squad tactics, combat medicine, fitness etc etc), in fact many of those are very very useful. If I'd been conscripted I would have accepted just to acquire some of those skills. But military culture and the dehumanization of the enemy that comes along with it is bullshit, and I could never bring myself to join the army if there was the risk of actively participating in an imperialist war.
Last edited by Nakidana; 15th April 2014 at 21:59.
Wow, I'm not sure I could deal with that - idiots telling you to march around and play dress up.
Would you ditch them if they wanted to you to go to war?
I wouldn't consider you a comrade, but if you believe in anarchist/communist principles then you are an anarchist/communist by definition.
Last edited by Queen Mab; 15th April 2014 at 22:52.
The criticism of religion ends with the teaching that man is the highest essence for man – hence, with the categoric imperative to overthrow all relations in which man is a debased, enslaved, abandoned, despicable essence, relations which cannot be better described than by the cry of a Frenchman when it was planned to introduce a tax on dogs: Poor dogs! They want to treat you as human beings!
- Karl Marx, Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
I pretty much have.
We've had two deployments which I volunteered not to go on. They usually have no problems with their manning so they as for volunteers first. I'm usualy one of the few that doesn't go. I get shit for maybe a month or two then it drops.
The guard base is actually very casual. More like civilians with a part-time military job then military with a part-time civilian job.
I managed to get $20000, monthly paycheck, and a 4 year degree with no loans for basically showing up one weekend a month and not doing anything. I think I made out pretty well.
Good on you.
Precisely why I joined an Air Guard base. My risk for hostile deployments are minimal.
As you stated, I actually enjoyed the fitness and the discipline aspects of the training. Put me in a mindset to work on myself physically and mentally. The culture aspect while I was in training was what you would expect. Machismo and xenophobic.
I understand your dillema mate. I come from a family that has some military connections. I know it's hard to hear, but, at the end of the day, an army in a capitalist system is there to protect the interests of the capitalist elites. There's just no way round that. If you come from an economically deprived area, as I did, then the forces represent a real way to break out of the poverty of your peers and that's understandable. Some of my mates went in, did their three years, got a trade and got out. They'd say they didn't have the luxury of political ideals, they just had to do what they had to do to get on. I fundamentally can't agree with that justification, but I was lucky enough/bright enough (or daft enough) to get myself a degree. For a variety of reasons, they weren't and so I didn't have to walk in their shoes or face their choices. Well, actually, that's not quite true, I did join the Scot's Guards when I was sixteen, but got chucked out after three months with a "services no longer required" order. But that's another story.
It's a tough one and I hope you make the best decision for yourself. One you can reconcile to you broader political beliefs. Good luck.
I hadn't expected such huge rewards. Especially considering just how astronomical higher education fees are out there. It saddens me that for some people the military is a financial necessity when there is nowhere else to turn (especially troubled young folk).
For a long time a year or two ago I considered joint the French foreign legion - apparently you can rack up about €200,000 in the 5 years if you are savvy - not to mention French citizenship under an assumed identity
The massive amount of monotonous cleaning, the atmosphere, and most of all the continued colonial-style suppressing of African people decided it for me.
Expanding on what I said earlier does anyone know of (or can link me to a thread of) left wing militias around the world, the 'drug dealing on the side' of FARC somewhat put me off...
@Xena
My case was more the exception, not the rule. Only the Air Guard was offering those kinds of deals, and my state provided the most benefits.
Free tuition at any state school, $20,000 was a signing bonus because the job i picked was undermanned.
Not many other states provided even half of what I managed to make out with.
I honesty wish I could have gone a different route. Me and my parents only had enough money to pay for a 1 1/2 years community college. Wasn't able to get tuition or scholarships, and I'd be damned if I was going to take on $30,000+ in loans.
20 THOUSAND A MONTH? I'm guessing there's some kind of misunderstand, did you mean two thousand??
Either way, that sounds…. Huh, that sounds pretty fucking great actually….
EDIT: Sorry didn't see your above post. That's all in student loans?
Is it possible to be anarchist/communist yet still be in the military
I would be interested in some of the kind of more intense training that the military provides, but that level of rigidness, the constant following of orders... Bleh. It's gross.
If it weren't for that I'd prolly use the military to train then just get out at my first opportunity as to not have to fight for the imperialist powers of the world.
"I'm not interested in indulging whims from members of your faction."
Seeing as this is seen as acceptable by an admin, from here on out when I have a disagreement with someone I will be asking them to reference this. If you want an explanation of my views, too bad.
im israel civil and i must join the army.
im very left in my opinions but i want to be combat because i rather that i (as a humanist) would be in front Instead of someone who is right-wing that would do same function but in a less humane way.
you can call it Influence from within.
You don't have to join the army.
You absolutely can and should refuse service.
I'm sorry, but I have precisely zero respect for trying to "influence" ethnic cleansing from within.
The life we have conferred upon these objects confronts us as something hostile and alien.
Formerly Virgin Molotov Cocktail (11/10/2004 - 21/08/2013)
