Strange problems make for strange solutions.

In a country where people of good conscience are ignored in favor of megalomaniacs like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin, our society has been well-trained to sit up and pay rapt attention in matters regarding the military.

We worship at the altar of the armed forces, and for two basic reasons: 1. Average people pay respect to those in the military because that service to our country is worthy of praise; and, 2. A few very influential people - in the defense industry, the oil industry, and the media - make vast fortunes off the defense budget and the wide coverage any military engagement is given.

In order to keep the gravy train running, they have, over many decades, ensured that military matters are securely wrapped in a shroud of hallowed untouchability, and as a culture, we have mostly swallowed this whole.  We are well-trained in this regard, and that glue holds fast.

The Trumps and Palins of the world run their mouths into many proffered microphones and cameras, while those interested in the genuine betterment of the nation are dismissed and ignored. Thus it has been for some time now...but when the military speaks, all ears turn to listen.

So be it.

The following are portions of a paper published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (.pdf) that was written by two members of the armed services: Captain Wayne Porter of the US Navy, and Colonel Mark Mykleby of the US Marine Corps. What makes the document remarkable is the fact that both men are top-ranking members of Admiral Mike Mullen's team. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, surely was aware of this paper before it was published, and allowed it to go to print, giving this document at least a seeming stamp of approval from the Pentagon.

Something else remarkable: two serving officers have proffered one of the more eloquent arguments in recent memory against the direction this country has been led for decades, and made an unassailable case for addressing the problems we face while providing readily available solutions to those problems.

It is, in the main, a profoundly progressive piece of work.

Making the Case From a Different Place