It's very simple. I'd much rather see many people starve to death due to not having jobs provided by the military, such that material resources can return to be allocated properly by the free market, than to see many people born, only to be destined to violently kill others and violently die themselves. If you continue a vicious cycle of providing resources to people so that they can violently kill others and be violently killed themselves, then what's the point of allocating resources to said people in the first place, if their destiny is simply to die violently? Lastly, I'd like to say four things (more as they occur to me): 1. this thread is motivated by my deep disturbance with the reality that humans and all other living things are fragile entities that, once damaged beyond repair, are either going to be in pain until they die, or die outright, and when they die, will be dead permanently without the possibility of "parole", for eternity. And, 2. I'm much less disturbed by a creature never being born/existing in the first place, than to be born and then die/be damaged violently, and 3. Weapons of mass destruction should not be allowed to ever exist or be created anywhere by anyone for any reason, even to protect against a massive invasion, and 4. I know the obvious response will be "but in the real world we need militaries to protect ourselves", but I'm talking about what I'd *like* to see, not what I'm *gonna* see so even if that point were valid it'd be irrelevant.
Do not forget that the militaries all over the world are also the largest group of "First Responders" that exist in the world, or in each and every nation for that matter. I know that in general, people in California hate the military. Yet every time there is a major disaster like an earthquake, floor, or wildfire the military is often among the first they look to for help. And the same goes world-wide. Tsunami in the South-West Pacific, Earthquake in Japan, Hurricane in Florida, Volcano in the Philippines. In each of these and more often the first people on the ground offering assistance is the US military. And many times other groups get there via the US Military. During the Tsunami's, it was the Air Force that brought most of the International Red Cross and equipment to the islands, since they had the largest supply of heavy lift aircraft available. Also do not forget that a lot of the research into virus is done by USAMRIID, which is part of the Army. The same with a huge number of dams, canals, and other irrigation projects, courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers. The military does a lot more then just fight and kill people. And without the military, throw out most of your modern life. From computers and the Internet to GPS, Satellite radio and TV, cell phones, and a great many other things.
Well yea of course!!! That's exactly what most people want (at least in the West), but the problem is when someone doesnt follow those rules they then can exert complete domination and control over you.... and so militaries are needed to keep the peace. When you get violant Jihadists etc who deliberatly seek out conflict to impose their beliefs unto others by force - then you can surely understand the need for a military. As the world matures and gets able to control more of its environment then we 'should' be able to reach a place where people understand the need and the how to live peacefully with people of different beliefs. The only issues then will be access to water, food, shelter and cable TV.
Shack. A perfect counterpoint for the bleeding heart rhetoric spewed from the type of people that believe we live in a utopian world. Drop our weapons, join hands and sing "Kumbaya" while we embrace all of our different opinions, cultures, and various other idiosyncrasies.
I prefer sex and drugs. Also, a live-action Transformers movie that doesn't suck. Can we get one of those?
