Would the military really act against the citizenry? You’re damn right they would.
I’ve been seeing this discussion popping up all over twitter. In a back and forth with another gentleman he was adamant that the officers would obey their pledge to the constitution. Well upon reflection, I believe he’s right and that’s probably why we are screwed. I could go into a tirade about Shays or the Whiskey Rebellion, but that was centuries ago, and the national psyche is not remotely the same. In fact, as I was considering how to begin this blog, I listened to tonight’s speech by President Biden. Along with his press secretary labeling a large populace as extremists, and the rhetoric from POTUS himself, it became clear.
Allow me to lay it out. If you don’t know, I am a bit of a hypocrite. I am an Army retiree, and I have continued to exist in that world as a civilian instructor teaching young artillery soldiers their job. Advanced Individual Training, the final institutional training before being sent to their prospective units. I am really only good at this job, as I joined at 18 and have basically been doing it in one way or another my whole life. I only mention this because you need context for what I’m about to say.
Over the years I have been having discussions with my class at the end of every day, while waiting to release them to go to dinner chow. I always give them 5 minutes to ask questions since NCOs tend to be too busy to do anything but problem solve the many things that happen during the day that keeps them busy. I normally drop low key info about economics and sound money. I rarely wade too deep into real politics with any intentionality. I keep it nuanced and offer perspectives sometimes none of them have ever considered when they do ask me questions. I can not of course be direct. Today I asked who has ever heard of Posse Comitatus. If you are not familiar with this you should click the link. No one raised their hand. When I explained what it was, one soldier blurted out, but we have to follow orders right?
“Ok Redleg, but the officers themselves will know what it is, and will do the right thing right?” Well no. Let’s revisit the POTUS’ rhetoric shall we. The first step to making it palatable for young and old politically motivated officers to cross that line is dehumanizing a portion of the populace, and labeling them as undesirables such as extremists. One might even infer that a portion of the populace are domestic enemies, which is covered in the pledge all officers take.
“But Redleg, the officers aren’t that stupid!” Have you not been paying attention to what the colleges have been producing? Anyone remember that Westpoint graduate with the Che shirt?
“But Redleg, they kicked him out!” Yes, because he was stupid. The stupid ones always go first. The ones left behind are the ones to worry about. Oh, and let’s briefly touch on General Milley. Does this sound like someone who took the above oath seriously? How easy was it to turn on his Commander in Chief when convenient. Humans can and will rationalize any action. I did during three deployments and I still feel guilt to this day but I still fucking did it. MIlley did in fact dissent on the use of active duty to put down the riots, but the stories I’ve heard, he was known to tell people to not follow Trump’s orders on troop withdrawals, so I can’t exactly chalk it up to his duty to the populace.
So here’s how it would go down. Continue the rhetoric until fantasy becomes reality. There will be some event, probably minor, that gets blown out of proportion, and then all that data that’s been getting scraped from us gets used to create targeting packets. Soldiers begin working with law enforcement, as they have done in the past. Hell Donald Trump tried to do it and many reading this probably wanted him to. Now imagine how the other side feels, and how much more easily Biden could do it without the dissent within his own cabinet.
I don’t mean to serve up a large black pill. There wouldn’t be 100% compliance, and as many goons I follow have noted, most of the weapons they have require full time maintenance teams of enlisted men. After the first bomb dropped or drone strike happened the likelihood of them coming home peacefully decreases, and continues to do so after every action against civilians and citizens alike. That doesn’t factor into the hubris of the war criminals that run this country though. The utter contempt the cathedral has for the idea of a free people and liberty is mostly in part because those ideals undermine their wealth, power, and influence. So maybe I’m spinning my wheels, but I am bearish on liberty any time soon, and very bearish on the military being an ally to a free people. I will leave you with this quote from James Madison. These seem to have been almost completely accomplished.
Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace. ~ James Madison
In Liberty