Who's driving?
With the congress moving into recess and all of the events of the last couple of weeks, it's been pretty eventful. CAFTA is passed and away, Bolton is off to the UN, the energy bill moves to the pres's desk, sheesh, I'm not really happy with any of that. Not that I have any say, thanks to our system.
I'm all about civil service these days. I work for the mil, in resource protection, so I am doing something to help my society. I don't feel like I can do enough from here though. So what am I supposed to do? I have some disagreements with what's happening in our country right now, but how can I affect that? All I get to do right now is my job. Honestly, some of the things I say here could get me in trouble. I'm not really allowed to dissent from my CinC. Do I stay in and try to change things from within? Or some other part of the government, like the Foreign Service corps of the state department? Or do I get out, do something else and just be a muckraker and try to enact change that way. I think that far too often the so-called progressives just want to stand outside and yell about the problems. There are people out there working to find new and better ways to do things, but not always in a way that can achieve support. Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Michael Albert and many, many other, more intelligent people than I are working for change, but how many people know who they are? Sure, my circle of friends does, but that's not who needs to know.
Maybe I should actually get involved in politics. The real deal politics. The military background is certainly a boon in that respect, but I need some more credentials. A degree or three will be another step in the right direction, but what else? Any ideas? If I really want to change things, being one of the people who writes the rules would be a pretty solid way to go.
posted by WunEyedDog @ 3:08 AM
6 Comments:
i know i told you to read howard (he was a bombardier) but that didn't help much because his response was to become a pacifist. you know that i am a huge proponant of effecting positive change from within, if you can reconcile what you do with your conscience. being a sere instructor, you would be teaching people to survive. that's a good thing. plus you would really enjoy what you do. that's a really really good thing. but if the fact that you're teaching people to survive, who may be doing things you don't agree with bothers you, then i suppose we'll have to find something else. as you well know, i was willing to send you off for a year to do pararescue training, so i'm here for whatever you decide to do. i know that playing politics isn't your cup of tea. you're a hands dirty kind of guy. you're just too smart to stay in the dirt.
me and a toyota (prius) would be PERFECT!
Mmmmmmmm....Prius
Yeah, I've thought about the blogs and the future, but I don't really care too much. If I get into politics, it would be with the intention of being as honest as possible, so what I have to say should be public domain. Of course, that's what everybody says...at first.
fd- that is PERFECT advice. i try to slow him down (coming from me it's a little hypocritical) he's barely 24, and he wants to see sweeping change everywhere he goes. laying the foundation for future influence is exactly where he should be! thank you.
The advice was quite welcome, I assure you. I'm always looking for some good books, so I'd love the recommendations. I'm actually very lucky in my situation right now, because my career field is full of relatively intelligent and open minded people (relatively, mind you). I've found a surprising number of people that I can have a real discussion with, whether or not they agree with me. I'm quite enjoying myself
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