Am I the only one that is a little creeped out at having a TV show about Fatherland...I mean "Homeland" Security forces? Call me crazy but this is starting to seem like propaganda - don't mind all of those people in uniforms and riot gear carrying automatic weapons, they are hear for your protection. They are heroes.
This is a tough one because, for the most part, they are heroes of a sort. Regular military, National Guard, Coast Guard, Homeland Security, state troopers, the local police department, etc. They take a very tough, very dangerous job and do not get paid very well. They deserve our thanks, appreciation, and admiration for what it is they are trying to do. However, domestically, their primary job is to enforce the law. What happens if someone changes the law so that they are asked to do something in which they aren't comfortable? What if their refusing to enforce the law becomes a violation of the law? What do you do if you must chose between becoming a criminal and enforcing a law in which you do not believe?
We are currently in the midst of seeing an active division of the U.S. Army being deployed inside the United States, in direct violation of several laws. Subchapter X, Article 890.90 of the Uniform Code of Miliary Justice states the following:
ASSAULTING OR WILLFULLY DISOBEYING SUPERIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER.
Any person subject to this chapter who--
(1) strikes his superior commissioned officer or draws or lifts up any weapon or offers any violence against him while he is in the execution of his officer; or
(2) willfully disobeys a lawful command of his superior commissioned officer; shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, and if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
Any person subject to this chapter who--
(1) strikes his superior commissioned officer or draws or lifts up any weapon or offers any violence against him while he is in the execution of his officer; or
(2) willfully disobeys a lawful command of his superior commissioned officer; shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, and if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
It will be a crime, potentially punishable by death, for a soldier to disobey an order. I know it seems crazy, but this is precisely the kind of thing that can take us from this -
To this - 
To this - 
4 comments:
I don't know about propaganda. Television is littered with all sorts of shows like this. There are several shows that follow around cops--I even passed by one recently that followed beach cops. I've seen all sorts of shows documenting various parts of the military--SEAL training, etc. To me this is just the latest in a long line--you know television producers...if something works, do it again and again and again.
Where I think you make a valid point--and one that no one seems to care about--is that there are troops deployed within our borders. I can only imagine what folks like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison would be saying...
True. Propaganda would indicate someone behind the scenes controlling television content. I have a hard time believing that could be the case. However, I have a hard time believing the federal government now controls the auto industry, the home mortgage industry, the entire financial industry, the transportation systems, retirement savings, and, coming soon, health care.
Having read a massive amount by and about Thomas Jefferson, I'm certain I know what he would say -
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
He would not be happy with what we've done to the country he helped build.
As a former member of the US Army, I know that there is one rule that out ways Subchapter X, Article 890.90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It is the first line of the oath of enlistment and it states "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". Soldiers are responsible, first and foremost, to uphold the US Constitution. All other commands are secondary. It is the responsibility of each and every soldier to view his orders in regards to this oath. Blind obedience does not create a good soldier. I hope this is what separates our military from others in history.
My fear is not so much that some deranged commander will start issuing orders against U.S. citizens. My understanding is that there are provisions in the branches of the military that protect soldiers from being ordered to engage in immoral acts.
What scares me is what happens when the government decides that the Constitution no longer applies? Roosevelt was preparing to do it and Lincoln did it. There were cases where Union soldiers that refused to fight against the south were shot for dessertion.
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