For those who may question my patriotism here at this blog, I would like to refer you to statements made by one of the greatest Marines that ever served our nation.
So, the next time someone questions my loyalty and patriotism, I will remind them of Smedley Butler, American Hero, Patriot, and self-proclaimed Corporate Stooge and Mercenary. And I will suggest that one look long and hard at ones position before passing judgment on mine and those who may agree with me. Anything less may bring ones own patriotism in to question.
I highly recommend that you read this insightful speech in its entirety by following this link. I am patriotic and I do love my country. I just don't like some of the things that are done by and in the name of My Country.
And we forget time and again what we learn by experience. As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Some call me crazy as I watch our nation succumb to a kind of 'mass insanity'.
Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933 by General Smedley Butler, USMC
By General Smedley D. Butler
http://www.wanttoknow.info/warisaracket
That war is a racket has been told us by many, but rarely by one of this stature.
Though he died in 1940, the highly decorated General Butler (two Congressional Medals of Honor) deserves to be heralded for his timeless message, which rings true today more than ever.
His riveting 1935 book War is a Racket merits inclusion as required reading for every high school student, and for every member of our armed forces today. Below is a ten-page summary of the best of this powerful exposé.
For a concise, two-page version, click here: http://www.wanttoknow.info/warcoverup
Foreword
Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933 by General Smedley Butler, USMCWar is just a racket. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers.
I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
I helped make Mexico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents...
... A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
So, the next time someone questions my loyalty and patriotism, I will remind them of Smedley Butler, American Hero, Patriot, and self-proclaimed Corporate Stooge and Mercenary. And I will suggest that one look long and hard at ones position before passing judgment on mine and those who may agree with me. Anything less may bring ones own patriotism in to question.
I highly recommend that you read this insightful speech in its entirety by following this link. I am patriotic and I do love my country. I just don't like some of the things that are done by and in the name of My Country.
"Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of a private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power."FDR: message to Congress proposing the monopoly investigation, 1938
And we forget time and again what we learn by experience. As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Some call me crazy as I watch our nation succumb to a kind of 'mass insanity'.
