CMV: As a member of the US military, I believe the military is being used to pimp America’s interests abroad and in no way am I a defender of freedom or the American people.

Anybody who joins the military to think they’re defending America or are a hero because of it is sadly misinformed. This is all I’ve been thinking about these last few days with all the patriotic posts from veterans and otherwise that the military defends our freedom. This view has been growing in my head for the last 15 months since enlisting and it really hit me today when I thought: “If I’m defending freedom, why am I in Bahrain right now instead of at a US border defending freedom from a real threat?”<br><br>The more you look into the military and our bases overseas, you will see the majority of our installations are in countries that are dealing with civil unrest or in areas with mass amounts of natural resources. It makes sense. Why would we keep a presence in a country that is of no threat to us or has nothing to offer. I don’t think a lot of people understand how often our “defense” contractors exploit the natural resources of these countries leaving their people to struggle in horrid conditions. Take a look at how much exploitation of resources a company like Haliburton has done in countries like Iraq, Chile, and Ecuador. Our military is just the muscle in these operations, a necessary evil. It’s kind of messed up to think about how many people feel like defending this country and yet we are making other countries suffer in the process. I’m not saying it’s all bad, some of these countries need the massive investments that come with our installations but it’s all so messed up.<br><br>I have no doubt in my mind we have only gone to war for the expansion of the US empire and to exploit the resources of other countries. World War II anyone? I think this is one of the few justifiable wars we’ve engaged in, but still. How many wars have we had on our own soil since we became an established nation? Very few. Anyone with half a brain should be able to see how messed up our foreign policy is. I think the government has done a good job brainwashing the American people into thinking that the military is for the defense of freedom and the protection of America and its people but in reality we are nothing but America’s muscle for exploiting weak nations. It’s a messed up idea and it’s a very hard pill to swallow. I’m not saying it’s all bad, just that we’re not as great as we think we are.<br><br>Edit: It seems I’ve caused quite a stir with this post and I’d just like to state I don’t think every service member is fed into to this mindset. I know that the military is also used for defense. I don’t think it’s the majority. I think the best examples of this are the cold war and Vietnam war. Just because we have installations around the world doesn’t mean we are necessarily a bad country, I just believe the interests are not in favor of the American people but rather the wealthy corporations that get a majority of their revenue from the contracts the military pays out.