1,700,000 Veterans...

There are more than 1,700,000 veterans of military service here in America.  

Veterans of the U. S. Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, the Coast Guard and our new Space Force.  Plus the  thousands and thousands of National Guard members.

And I'm guessing there are just about 1,700,000 veterans of military service in America, plus all our Guard folks, who are all shaking their heads in disbelief at the fustercluck unfolding all around us.  

As in a Major FUBAR!  If you're a vet, you know what that means.  If not, look it up.  And I'm one of them, BTW.  Proudly., 

They are seeing America devolve.  Deconstruct.  Come unglued.  Fly apart like a Woolworth watch.  Into its component pieces.  We are a Nation divided.  Black against White.  Young against old.  Rich against poor.  To our mutual peril.    

And I'd also guess that most of us believe that January  27th, 1973 will become a Black Letter Day when some future historian finally writes America's Story.  

From on top of its ashes.  

After we've consumed ourselves in a mountain of debt and a pittifest of self-loathing.

January 27th, 1973 was the day American ended conscription.  The Draft.  That arrangement we've conjured that enables the Gubmint to forcibly yank young men from the comfort of their homes and send them off to fight for us in some distant land.  And sometimes die.  

Over, and over, and over.  And over...

Was our military superior then to the one we have now?  Oh gracious noooo!  It was not nearly as capable.  Or mean.  Or nasty.  Or dedicated.  For our current military is made up of professionals.  All our soldiers and sailors and Marines are volunteers.  They're older, smarter, wiser, better educated and trained and equipped then we were way back when (how about 55 years back?).   

So why am I bitching?  Because "way back when" meant we were all forced to live and eat and drill and work and sleep and fight together, regardless of our age, or race, or religion, or political persuasion.  And as I've stated before, there are no atheists in a foxhole.  Nor are there any racists.  Or sexists.  Or homophobes.  Just fellow soldiers, scared sh*tless, trying to keep each other alive.  And God knows, that's sometimes not easy.

And what it created was a sense of fellowship. And comradery.  And patriotism.  And these returning service members take it back home when they get out.  And it infects their moms and dads, and brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and every single cousin.  And perhaps their neighbors, as well.  

In short, in created a sense of patriotism throughout our Great Country.

Unfortunately, no more.

You should know that 24 countries require their young people to enter into some form of conscription when they reach the age of 18.  And then require a minimum of two years' service (often more) to their respective countries.  Usually in their military, but often in other forms of community service.  The Netherlands, and Israel, and Switzerland, and Denmark, and South Korea, and Greece, and Malta, and Serbia, and on, and on, and on...

And in many cases, they require their soldiers to return home following their service with a fully-automatic weapon that can be brought to bear should a call-up of their national guard prove necessary.  So they have hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of trained warriors just waiting to be called upon to serve in a time of national strife.  

And it's a winning formula.  Switzerland has never been attacked, for instance.  Nor have a dozen other countries I could list.  

Because they believe an armed society is a polite society...

And if one takes a look at the legislation coming out of Washington, and how we're being governed, almost exclusively by those who have never served, you cannot fail to notice that we're screwed.  By those who in many cases hold our military in disdain.  And those paramilitary organizations which protect our cities and our borders from assault.  And they prove it every time they allocate funding.  Let's you know where their priorities are...  

One must now realize that ending our Draft may well have contributed to the end of America.  

I sure hope not.  But it doesn't look good...