Ladies and gentlemen:
Just stumbled across this hijacked thread.
Why do some of you react so negatively to 'Military' ?
Would you prefer any tinpot dictator with a few billion dollarsworth of arms to come and take your land?
The foregoing is not a Basil original idea but has been lifted and modified:
Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.
Then there are the wolves, and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. Criminals within your own society or enemy dictators in foreign lands. There is no safety in denial.
Then there are sheepdogs which live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.
Clearly these are not black and white distinctions. Many of us are sometimes sheep and sometimes sheepdogs. I've spent most of my life as the former but part as the latter.
You've guessed already, haven't you? The police and military are the sheepdogs. Perfect? Nope! . . but the best we have.
Last edited by Basil; 17th Aug 2008 at 08:12.