March 13, 2011

U.S. Military and the Tea Party: Volunteer Armies

In his early life Cecil Day Lewis, the father of actor Daniel Day Lewis, was a communist. In the late 1930's (1930-1938) he was even a member of the communist party. However, as the years passed he became disillusioned with communism.  In 1938 as his disillusionment was growing, along with a sense of British patriotism and an understanding of an inevitable war to come, he released a selection of poems which included The Volunteer a portion of which is included below (emphasis added).


Tell them in England, if they ask
What brought us to these wars,
To this plateau beneath the night’s
Grave manifold of stars –

It was not fraud or foolishness,
Glory, revenge, or pay:
We came because our open eyes
Could see no other way.

There was no other way to keep
Man’s flickering truth alight:
These stars will witness that our course
Burned briefer, not less bright.

Those are some inspiring words for our own time, and indeed any time. Beset by liberals who believe conservatives' patriotism and actions are founded in fraud, foolishness, glory, revenge and/or pay, it is important to always point out that our what founds our motivation are qualities to be praised, rather than scorned.  Conservatives and Tea Party activists are doing what needs to be done.  In fact, it is not necessarily that conservatives can see no other way, but that we can see the path of the best possible way, established by centuries of forefathers' experience.  That valuable experience is to be built upon, not discarded in favor of radical change because that experience has lead to great success.

In another vein, The Volunteer is an inspiring poem about volunteering for one's nation in the face of an ominous threat.  Doing is what is necessary and what is right, in the face of danger is noble and brave.  Those who do so in the defense of liberty, and country deserve our praise and respect. It is their belief that is the  reason liberty ultimately will prevail for mankind.  People will volunteer to defend freedom, but getting someone to volunteer to support oppression, a leader's personal wealth or glory or something else not aligned with liberty is unlikely.  And if a draft is used to enforce the 'volunteer' to enlist, the resulting army will not be 100% invested in it's prescribed outcome.  Those who volunteer for pay are also invested in personal gain and are more risk averse. While they may be more invested in the effort than a conscript, they certainly are still not emotionally invested as a volunteer who is focused on the defense of liberty - even if the army is called a people's army.  Volunteering to do what is right for one's country, be it the Tea Party or for the military or in many other situations is founded in a belief in doing what is right.  That makes a big difference in the desire for success in their efforts.

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