Haven't smoked a cigarette in 3 weeks, though the spliff reigns supreme every now and then, thanks to an awesome $50 e-cig called the Juul. The team who made the Juul are the same guys behind the Pax and Pax2, and it's an awesome little piece of engineering. The problem is that my nicotine intake probably increased since I would only smoke 3-4 cigs a day tops if I was out with friends or something. Though I could do without nicotine regardless, it's quite tempting and, in a dangerous way, comforting to know that I can catch a buzz whenever I want in this insanely stressful time in my life. I haven't even smoked weed in a week and I've felt little to no craving to do so. In other news, I'm packing up the records I found and sending them back to their owner. I'd rather not risk the bad juju of stolen vinyl, not even for Marvin Gaye. And in other other news, my conscience lingers on the sense of responsibility I'd feel in active duty service, when every time I look in the news I see another example of our proud Armed Forces being exploited in pointless squabbles, for the personal, political, and financial gain of an influential institution or industry. I don't feel very comfortable contributing to the death of civilians in some ridiculous, humiliating war to fill some wretched oligarch's pockets. Thoughts?
Armed Forces being exploited in pointless squabbles, for the personal, political, and financial gain of an influential institution or industry. I don't feel very comfortable contributing to the death of civilians in some ridiculous, humiliating war to fill some wretched oligarch's pockets. Thoughts?
You don't need our thoughts on this. You are asking important questions. What is good work and what is a "ridiculous humiliating war to fill some oligarch's pockets"? Can you be at West Point and do peace work?
FEMA hires a lot of military people. Not peace work, but good work, and from the outside it doesn't look like a bad place to work. I've done a few projects for them, and in spite of every one of them being along the lines of "so this disaster just happened, and we really need you to make this thing to help us deal with it, like, yesterday" they're some of my favorite users. Only organization that large I've ever worked with that never throws bullshit at you. They have better things to do.
So after 4 years at WP, and 5 years of active duty service, I'm genuinely free to go as I please (considering the 2 years of reserve duty after the 5 doesn't go into effect). At that time, I'm a civilian like any other and I look forward to grad school and a proper career. Eventually, I want to use my success to give back to a few different communities that really helped me get where I am. My issue is focused on the active duty itself, although I will most likely not be doing any "damage" if you will by my own hand, but I'll still be very much part of the machine that enables it :/
As part of the machine, you can also do your part to steer it, however slightly, to the side of doing good. Your absence in the military is unlikely to make American military action better, but your presence can. Are you familiar with James Blunt's military service?I'll still be very much part of the machine
You're right. This is really cool, thanks for the link. Most of the time, refusing to comply is a stupid move; I hope I develop the same resolve and insight to know when it is time to do so if the need arises. For some reason, this eased my mind a lot!
To me, refusing to comply with a stupid order is a stupid move. Refusing to comply with an illegal order is a brave and honorable one.
One of the huge benefits of West Point is a completely free tuition, with stipend, and a scholarship for grad school. Absolutely awesome deal.
The more honorable and ethical people we put in uniforms the better off the nation will be. You might find yourself in a position where you are ashamed of and hate the things you are asked to do someday but if a person who didn't feel that way was given the same assignment he would do less to mitigate the harm which his necessary actions cause. So many of the people I've known who were going to join or were in the military were boneheads who lived an unexamined life. It distresses me to think of the things they might do. I've known a few people who were going to join the military that I felt confident would be a force for good in an organization that by it's nature and function is a so often a force of exploitation, suffering and destruction. I predict that if you join the military you will put positive pressure on a system in which rides a very fine line between good and evil but it might not be good for you.
Thanks for this perspective. In the last week or so I've been expressing these concerns to everyone, and this is the most helpful insight I've come across. I wrote a lengthy response just now but removed it, since you basically read my mind anyway. I hope I can be a positive pressure on whats happening around me, without compromising my performance and becoming the sort of cynic that held me back in high school. That'll be the biggest challenge out of all of them at WP :P
I was very proud to buy Afghani black hash by the pound during the Soviet Occupation. It had a gold leaf seal on it with a circular impression kinda like this with a picture of a mujahideen with bullet belts across his chest and an AK in his hands. Around the outside it had words something like "Freedom for Afghanistan." I used to say "Smoke a doobie. Kill a Commie." So yeah, I helped fund the Taliban. Well maybe the Northern Alliance but who knows.
Do you like the Juul? I nearly bought it but decided to go with a more conventional (if you can call it that) setup. It looked beautiful and I loved my Pax, but I was worried about having to buy their pods instead of getting liquid from a variety of vendors.
The Juul is perfect as far as I'm concerned. A pod is a pack's worth of nicotine, the battery lasts one full day and charges within an hour. 4 great flavors, including a tobacco flavor, though "bruul" is the best. You can also very easily fill an empty pod with any e-juice and nicotine level of your choice, though I just stick with miint and bruule cause i dont want to go broke on this thing:P It's not for cloud-chasers, simulates a cigarette feel very well and you're not going to get huge clouds like you would on a mod for tricks and shit. There are no buttons, just pull. This helps mitigate the douchebag factor. Only downside is that a full pod might leak a bit if you drag too hard, and itll leave a weird taste. Also, a pack of 4 pods is around $15 online, though a mere $50 unit and the current cost of a pack of cigarettes today makes it worth it if you're already a frequent smoker. Try it out!