Blackboards: 2021 style

[yogi]

The price I paid our general contractor was about 7% of the total cost to build the house - not including the price of the land. That seemed reasonable to me but I was surprised that he wanted a separate check instead of pulling it out of the mortgage settlement.

I lived on the states side of that Viet Nam war and fortunately never was drafted into duty. I got to see all those protestors and the crowds who chanted anti-war mantras. It was a very unsettled time for many reasons. There was much celebration when the last Americans left Saigon, but that was not the end of warfare. Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan was our final battle either. The nature of war has changed, and I'm not talking about the robots and drones now engaging in combat instead of humans. More than one enemy of ours is engaged in psychological warfare, not to mention cyber warfare, on a 24/7 basis. We are being targeted for destruction by means that are subtle but effective in the long run. Some of that kind of warfare is getting headlines these days, but it has been going on intensely ever since the Soviets lost the Cold War during Regan's administration. At least in 'Nam you knew who and where the enemy was. Most people in this country don't even realize we are in a war zone.

[ocelotl]

Most terrorist groups want to stop worldwide economy, and most authoritarian regimes want to control the world, so it's a dark murky swamp out there below the surface. It's not that they want the riches of the rich countries, is that they want the riches to vanish to profit from their serfs... While we still have some information freedom, we must keep discriminating the information we get. There are many people out there that claim for Anarchy, yet the problem is that real anarchy won't exist, at least, when it unleashes, it derives always to some sort of power system. In this forum we tend to avoid the issues that we cannot solve as individuals, and to attend the issues that we can have a slight control over. Anyway, the way global society is heading to seems worrying, yet we have to avoid getting crushed by it and keep the good spirits.

[yogi]

Leaders are strong because they have an ability to get other people to act and behave according to their dictates. The antidote to such power is education. The people being led must be informed well enough to be able to judge when the leader is not acting in the best interests of his/her minions. The leaders in power are there only because those being ruled allow it. Anarchy is one solution but as you point out it often replaces one bad situation with another equally bad. There have been "Velvet Revolutions" where violence was minimal or avoided because the threat of grassroots insurrection was not acceptable. Forums such as ours may not be very influential, but they do contribute to the overall knowledge base we can use to make critical decisions.

[Kellemora]

I don't like to talk about what went on before I was drafted, nor how we were treated on coming home again.
It was like everything I knew about people had changed. The amount of pure hate by many was almost insurmountable for me.
Many of the Nam era returnees were even shunned by the VFW posts, at least back in my home town area.
It sorta has settled down a little bit after a few years, but even still, after Korean vets, the VFW is still aloof.

[yogi]

When you put your life on the line for some bastards who hate you for doing it, that has got to be the most cruel kind of hurt. You were just a young man when you were drafted and didn't have that many years experience judging people. It's still a blow to one's self-image to learn that the world isn't what you grew up to think it was. My empathy for you is great even though I never was in an official war zone. I made 70 trips around the sun and learned a lot more than I knew when Viet Nam was being embattled. At that time I too was confronted with the probability that I misjudged the people I trusted and depended on. People of every age experience major errors in judgement. But we still have our dignity.

[ocelotl]

Being from a country whose army has deployed abroad since WWII only for disaster relief motivations, and that has an active internal propaganda about nations sovereignty and peoples self determination, just make us judge things from afar, without noticing that the ones sacrificed in any war are human beings with their own issues, life story, drives, motivations, and that it resumes to a game of power where the real participants don't know about victory or rewards, just loss and grieve... Oh well, I'll just keep from going on before I offend anyone.

[yogi]

There was a time when much of the world relied on America to maintain the equilibrium between all nations. I don't think there ever was an open declaration that this country should be the world's police force, but that is how it played out in many instances. Many of our own soldiers lost their lives so that people in other countries could experience some degree of self-determination. While that all sounds benevolent and good it was quite the opposite in the eyes of many. Helping one's allies does not always produce the desired effect. Today in the year 2021 the image of that world police force is not what it used to be. In some ways that is good because other countries have become world powers and gladly take on the role of enforcing peace and harmony in their own style. It remains to be seen who will be the last one standing, or if there will be anybody standing at all.

[Kellemora]

You don't know how many times we have come within inches of a worldwide nuclear war!
One time was by just minutes, and by a captain who refused to press the button without more clarification.

Even the meager part I played in the war, had far reaching outcomes in later years.
And most of those had to do with government cover-ups. Denying many things too.
Don't believe me, see what you can find out about the Tet Offensive?

[yogi]

Some people claimed, and still believe today, that our involvement in Viet Nam was not necessary or justified. A lot of investigation was performed by the pro and the con contingents and as you might have guessed no consensus was reached. Be that all as it may we did get involved and people like yourself did what they had to do under the circumstances.

Nobody in their right mind wants to see a nuclear war started. The problem is that there are more than a few world leaders not in their right mind, and a couple of them have or will shortly have nuclear weapon capability. Their goal is total destruction so that wiping out humanity is no big deal. Gen. Mark A. Milley is cited as the most recent savior when the former administration wasn't giving clear signals about their intentions. It's probably happened a couple other times too but the only moment that stands out in my mind is the Cuban Missile Crisis during JFK's administration.

Truth be told we have been tested by our enemies more than a few times, but the logic of MAD has prevailed. Unfortunately the world of 2021 no longer is concerned about anything like mutually assured destruction.

[Kellemora]

I had no choice actually. My original draft classification was 1Y, which means I wouldn't be drafted.
When my cousin joined the Air Force, and since I was already flying planes, I tried to join also.
I had to go to the board of appeals and all their rigmarole to try and get changed to 1A so I could join.
When the dust finally settled, they gave me a new classification of 4F which means I could never get into the service.

It was only a couple of weeks later when my mom called me to tell me to come by her house, seems I was drafted.
Well, as a 1Y, and the fact we were in a war, they could draft me. Just like they did about 1/3 of our high school grads.
I went into the induction center to complain that I was 4F, they didn't believe me, gave me all the shots and inspections, etc.
Rather than get onto a bus out to Ft. Leonard Wood, my dad brought me, since he knew they would send me home right away, and when I was finally where I could speak to someone, he took my draft card, tore it in half and tossed in on the ground. So there I was, starting boot camp. I've gone into the other details in the past so won't harp on about them anymore. Other than to say, I really do think my dad had enough pull to get me changed around at least. It is still all confusing to me!

I hear ya on all the nut cases out there with nuclear capabilities, and hell bent no blowing up planet earth.

We do have pretty much equipment designed to stop any inbound threats, but do we have enough is the question?

[yogi]

Far be it from me to know about our true ability to defend ourselves from a nuclear attack. I don't think any missile defense system can stop everything from coming in. Just look at what's going on in places like Israel. Missiles not much more sophisticated than toys have evaded their defenses from time to time. While that is certainly tragic, those missiles were not nuclear weapons. It would only take a few explosions of today's mega-bombs to contaminate the planet for thousands of years. Plus, just think of how those incoming nuclear bombs would be stopped from hitting their targets. They would either be diverted to some other location or they would be detonated before hitting the ground. Just image what a few dozen nuclear bombs exploding in the stratosphere would render. Actually, it's too scary to even imagine.

I can't believe anyone has good memories about being in a war, particularly not Viet Nam. I'm sorry that you must struggle trying to cope with such evil memories. The good news is that it's all behind you. You made it through a bad situation and you certainly are a better person for it. You know the old cliche, "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger."

[Kellemora]

I hear ya Yogi, that's why I try not to think about it, nor the fact I live so close to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The perfect site for a bomb to be dropped.

Yes, that is true! We had to be tough, all soldiers did. Even the ten pound weaklings came back home tough as nails. Barring just a few who broke down from the riggers of war.