Not all who wander are lost, and not all who are lost wander.
I have recently returned from a quick, job-related trip overseas. Due to the poor nature of the internet access available to me at the time, this venture caused quite a stop in my blogging. Now that I am home safely again, I shall return to the my irregular posting rate. One good thing that came out of my adventure is the discovery of a number of blog ideas that shall, hopefully, be making their way here soon. Until then, wander well, my friends.
To the soldiers whining about not being paid,
We volunteered. Always remember that. We took an oath before the eyes of God, Allah, Tao, the Universal Consciousness, or just the human condition, whatever you may believe in. Do you remember it? It went a little something like this,
“I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
Now, the little part about obeying the orders kinda just jumps out at me, personally. To me, that part means as a soldier, I obey all lawful orders given me by those officers and NCOs placed over me. As far as I know, there is nothing saying the President can’t delay our pay until such time as we can be payed properly. Yes, I recognize it isn’t the President delaying our pay, its the budget impasse in Congress, but if the power is given to Congress by the President, the order is basically from the Presidential Office.
I don’t know about the rest of the branches, but the Army has a little something called the Army Values: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. While all of these values could apply here, there’s a few that, again, just jump right out at me. Selfless service, uh, hello, boys, SELFLESS. This means giving of yourself without concern to fame, position, money, or any other benefit. Now, I’m not expecting any of us to completely forgo benefits for our service. We have a tough job, tougher than most any other career in the current job market. However, we are called to give of ourselves for the betterment of the society. To me, if this means tightening my belt and driving on, so be it. Yes, I worry about how to feed and house my, admittedly small, family, but I know we will survive one way or another. We will scrounge every cent, beg and borrow from family, even stoop to getting a relief loan, if necessary, but we will survive. This is what it means to be a military family. Its hard, its tough, and sometimes we hate it, but in the end, we survive. We are the one percent for a reason, and sometimes that means we have to step up and BE that one percent. Be the heroes that we are purported to be, be the men and women that the rest of the poulace can look to and and say, “They defend us. They defend our homes, our families, our livelihoods. They lay their lives on the line. They are kicked, beaten, shot, stabbed, bombed, and sometimes killed.” They see us, and I hope they see proud warriors, not whining, mewling children, scrabbling to snatch the bread out of the very hands we are supposed to be defending.
So, what’s it going to be? Are you a man or a baby? Warrior or thug?
I know there are a lot of people out there talking about, reading of, discussing, and arguing about the theoretical military pay freeze and government shutdown. There is at least one major misconception about this possible event, and there are also a few other aspects of it I’d like to talk about.
First off, many people I know are laying the blame of the government shut down and pay freeze at the feet of the administration, namely President Barack Obama. From what little research I can find on this subject, the blame is misplaced. Let’s define what we are taking about first. The pay freeze in question is not a stop pay, as far as I can tell. It is merely a three year proposed cap. Government employees would still be paid as per usual, they just would not receive the yearly pay raises that have become the norm. All I can say is, suck it up and drive on. The majority of civilian jobs do not offer regular pay increases at entry level positions, or if they do, nowhere near to the relatively exorbitant raises government employees have received for the past years. Duty sometimes requires a tightening of the belt for the betterment of society as a whole. Adjust your budget (or actually build a budget) and stop complaining. If you still want to complain, do not lay blame on those who don’t deserve it. President Obama included in his budget plan a 1.4% increase for military pay in 2011; he’s not the one trying to implement the pay freeze. For that, look to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, a bipartisan group created by President Obama. This commission was charged with” identifying policies to improve the fiscal situation” in the near to mid future. They suggest to freeze all government pay for three years, starting in 2011. The estimate this could save the US over an estimated 24 billion dollars by 2015. I don’t see much of a problem with this, myself. Then again, I accept that it is my duty to serve the US, albeit intelligently and not blindly.
The government shutdown is a very real possibility. However, many of the fears are hyperbole or outright lies. If the government shutdown, all non-essential positions would be put on furlough or would work without pay. Yes, you read that part right. However, they would receive back pay when the budgeting problems are worked out. Another caveat to this consequence is the non-essential part. National defense is essential, and will therefore continue to be funded. Likewise, air traffic controllers would continue to receive compensation. The post office is primarily self-funded through postage; while they may furlough some employees, the majority would continue to work normally. Other positions considered essential include:
I am not saying that all of these positions will be unaffected. All I am saying is I cannot see these services being completely shutdown. These essential services may see employees furloughed, impacting the efficincy of the services, but they will still be functional assets.
Why has all of this shutdown hysteria hit the news all of a sudden? I don’t know the true answer, I only have my opinion. The government has been looking at the national spending and is trying desperately to trim a budget out of the bloated creature that it has become. All sides cry and scream for their piece of the spending pie, and no side is innocent in this. Everyone throws a tantrum when they don’t get their way, using the media to hype up the big scary government shutdown if the opposition doesn’t back down. It terrifies me that these supposedly adult men and woman are running our country. Everyone wants all the money for their projects, and practically refuse to share the spending. Wake up! You can only spend as much as you bring in, ladies and gentlemen. This country is in debt to its carefully constructed hair plugs, and eventually our debtors will start calling. Stop spending so much money outside the borders of our country. Throw the billions of dollars we’re sending overseas in aid packages and apply that aid here. We have millions of men, women, and children sleeping in boxes and eating from trash cans. Why? Because we consistently send jobs overseas, destroying our own job market. When a country’s people don’t work, they don’t pay taxes. No taxes means no government income, and this is why we are where we are now. I am a 27 year old college dropout, and I can figure these things out. Why can’t our leaders understand basic economics? Hell, its not even basic economics. Its just practical money management. Maybe our leaders need to stop lying to us and themselves, suck up their egos, and start doing what’s right for the country and their countrymen. It’s time to grow up.
Sources:
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/Illustrative_List_11.10.2010.pdf
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/about
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/22/government-shutdown-2011-5-immediate-consequences-if-it-happene/
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-washington-dc/looming-government-shutdown-anarchy-1
This section will contain reviews of movies. *Gasp* Big surprise, huh? Anyway, I would like to request the help of others to really fill out this category and its sibling, Book Reviews. I don’t have time to read every book, or watch every movie, so I am perfectly content to accept the aid of others in these areas. Just follow the format below to submit a Movie Review.
Format-
“(Movie Title)”
Cast and Crew-
(Director)
(Producer)
(3-5 primary actors/actresses)
Plot Synopsis: Avoid major spoilers. Give the movie blurb, or preferably write your own brief explanation for what the movie is about.
Review: Again, avoid major spoilers. Give your opinion on the actors portrayals of their characters, timing, lighting, camera usage, etc. No swearing, and please keep it clean. This review should be able to be read to a third grade class.
Grade: A-F
This section will contain reviews of books. *Gasp* Big surprise, huh? Anyway, I would like to request the help of others to really fill out this category and its sibling, Movies Reviews. I don’t have time to read every book, or watch every movie, so I am perfectly content to accept the aid of others in these areas. Just follow the format below to submit a Book Review.
Format-
“(Book Title)”, (Author)
Plot Synopsis: Avoid major spoilers. Give the book blurb, or preferably write your own brief explanation for what the book is about.
Review: Again, avoid major spoilers. Give your opinion on the action, plot holes, and author writing abilities. Be nice, no trolling or flaming. No Swearing, either. This should be clean enough to read to a 3rd grade classroom.
Grade: A-F
Well met and welcome all. Herein may be found the ramblings and observations of a wanderer, scholar, and inveterate observer of humanity. I invite you all to comment, critique, and provide feedback. However, understand that this is a place where my thoughts will be free to roam. Some of these thoughts may be shocking, odd, and possibly even extreme, but they are mine. If you are offended, I apologize. My intent is not to offend or harass, but I need to be able to say what I feel I must. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.
Farewell for now. May our trails cross again.
November 23, 2011
stalker2148
