Now that I’m caught up on my obligations, let’s address a painful question. It’s often been asked over the years. It’s painful because the most accurate answer to it is unpleasant. It just cropped up at Gab:
And the answer is: Yes, some wars, some of the people, and some of the time.
Wars are not always the will of the ruler. Sometimes the ruler is pressured into a war by popular sentiment. A good example is the Spanish-American War. President McKinley opposed it, but popular sentiment demanded it. Popular sentiment for war had been deliberately inflamed by the Hearst chain of newspapers.
But even wars reluctantly embarked upon will have the enthusiastic support and participation of some. While the typical soldier of any elevation might not want to go to war – it’s reputed to be “not healthy for children and other living things” – some soldiers are other than typical.
The screenwriters of the first Jack Reacher movie nailed it:
Many opinions change in the course of a war. If memory serves, the American public was strongly behind President George W. Bush as regards going to war to depose Saddam Hussein…before the war was over. But many of those supporters dropped away in the course of the events that followed.
The era of kings, royal houses, and noble families was different. In that era, decisions to go to war, whether it would be nation against nation or one nobleman against another, were independent of the opinions of those who would fight in them or be taxed to pay for them. Today some degree of popular support is required, except in those regimes completely controlled by an autocrat or oligarchy. That’s why information warfare, in which agents of influence strain to bend popular sentiment in their preferred direction, is so important today.
In any conflict, the most important agents of influence are always the warring national governments. The influence each government seeks most ardently to wield is over its own subjects. This has implications that every subject of any State should bear in mind at all times – and most particularly when the masters of the State decide that it’s in their personal or familial interests to take their nation to war.
“War is the health of the State.” – Randolph Bourne
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Sir,
I rather strongly suspect that some return to the press gangs of old will be required to obtain the necessary numbers for this next war, as it would seem that the events of the past few years have sapped the enthusiasm of the people to blindly accept their leaders’ explanations for such endeavours.
I know that here in Canada, we don’t have to worry. Justin is like his dad; being Quebecois, their affection for the CF has always been demonstrably lacking, historically. Besides, his current priority is to ensure the tampon dispensers in the male bathrooms on base are regularly topped up… so brave.
Nations with more solid martial traditions, however… well, that’s a different conversation.
Re: “I know that here in Canada, we don’t have to worry. Justin is like his dad; being Quebecois, their affection for the CF has always been demonstrably lacking, historically. Besides, his current priority is to ensure the tampon dispensers in the male bathrooms on base are regularly topped up… so brave.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, Mike, but hasn’t Trudeau “invited” troops from the People’s Republic of China to “joint exercises” with the CF? Down here in the ‘States, I seem to recall having seen an article or item on that some time back. Sorry, no specifics, that’s all I’ve got.
Assuming that your “boy wonder” PM would do such a thing, it ought to concern us greatly IMHO. The PRC leadership, including President Xi Xinping, have spoken behind closed doors for years about China’s need for “living space” and room to grow. Remind you of anyone else in fairly recent history using such language? It ought to do so, since both of our nations fought against him together eighty or so years back.
Not that we here in the southern border of Canada have any right to feel high-and-mighty; the Bidens – father and son alike – look to this citizen to be owned, lock-stock-and-barrel by the Chi-Coms.
Are “leaders” like Trudeau and Biden that underhanded, that they would surrender their own nations and territories to another nation? Well, maybe I have an overactive imagination – but both are certainly capable of such treachery. Long as they get paid, there doesn’t seem to be any length to which they are unwilling to go.
The governor of California is another stooge, Gavin Newsome; he’d surrender California to the Chinese in a heartbeat sooner than allow the GOP to take over. But getting back to Canada and the U.S., Russia swipes back Alaska – which they want back rather badly – and maybe some of western Canada, too, while the PRC swipe California, Oregon and Washington.
These are radical thoughts, but these are strange times, and history tells us anything is possible. When nations and empires grow sick and weak, the jackals and vultures begin circling…
From what we hear, China is only one of the countries invited by Justin to ‘train’ here, although given all the givens it would seem the objective is more ‘recon’ than simple training evolutions…
Recall that Justin admires the, uh, basic Chinese dictatorship, uh. Between the CBDC project, and the ongoing development of a China-style social credit system, well, that writing is very much on the wall (and it doesn’t say ‘Mene, mene, mene, what’s it to you?’).
As far as Canadian cynicism, my question is ‘What is the difference, if any, between cynicism and realism?’ People I talk to, and admittedly it is a very small sample size, seem united in their disdain for all things government, as well as a serious case of the doom-and-glooms concerning conditions moving forward.
On the first day of April, for example, Justin will impose another stage in his carbon tax program. This will add 23% to the price of most things, even as Justin has repeatedly risen in the House to explain that there is no proof that rising inflation results in increases to the cost of food. Any one saying so is a conservative shill, and it’s a damned lie to boot.
Boogity, boogity, boogity shoe.
I think that, privately (because to say otherwise is to risk a visit from the police, depending), many Canadian are very alarmed at what is befalling our cousins to the south, even as Canada contributes materially to those factors through our ridiculous immigration scheme (the fact that very, very few people in Canada live further than 200 miles from the 49th parallel is not a planning oversight desperate for a solution; there are extremely good reasons for this, which people from central Africa will be hard-pressed to successfully resolve. Good luck).
When the time comes, you will find support from Canada does exist, and it will be provided. I have spent most of my life expecting those blue helmets to arrive someday, and it looks like it might happen sooner than later…
@ Mike
Regarding a return of press gangs, they’ve made a reappearance in Ukraine. Roving bands of personnel from Zelensky’s regime are snatching available men, especially young men, off the streets and forcing them into the army, whether they want to go or not. It is de facto a death sentence, and many of these men are simply fed into the meat-grinder w/o adequate training, antiquated or substandard equipment, and the like.
Rumor has it that they are so hard up for fresh bodies that they are considering conscripting women, including pregnant women, and they have already begun underage boys and old men in the mercenaries.
Here in the ‘States, the usual suspects are using a somewhat different approach: They’re making moves toward creating an American “Foreign Legion,” modeled at least in part on the French Foreign Legion, except without the elite training, esprit de corps and legendary toughness of those troops. The plan is simple: Foreign nationals will be allowed U.S. citizenship in return for being willing to serve in the U.S. military.
This all sounds practical and even harmless-enough to the uninformed, but here’s the catch: Non-native troops will have no historical or other attachment to the United States or its people. Tyrants of the 20th century rediscovered an old method from the ancient past: If you wanted to repress or even liquidate a population of people, bring in outsiders – outside soldiers, mercs, secret police, etc. – to do the job.
Oh, and it isn’t just the military considering this: A number of blue states and cities have already recruited foreigners to join the ranks of the police.
Americans have always stood up to defend the country in times of crisis and genuine emergency; when the nation and its people need defending, they step forward. The trouble for the power brokers is that the vast majority of the people have now figured out that if they join mil.gov, they won’t be defending this country or its people – instead they’ll probably be sent halfway around the world to fight yet another ‘cabinet war’ (elective/unnecessary conflict) or defend someone else’s border.
I know real Canadians are the same. I don’t know for a fact that cynicism among everyday Canadians has reached similar heights there as here in the U.S., but it would not surprise me. Such distrust and cynicism are well-founded given recent and current events. The corrupt leaders of the West are unworthy of the sacrifices made by their young people in uniform.
In 1916, or one-hundred and eight years ago, a London paper published a story on the carnage at the Somme, in which the phrase “lions led by asses” was used. The former being the brave Tommies who went over the top and into German machine-gun and artillery fire, while the latter were the generals who kept ordering them to do it. It appears nothing much has changed in the intervening years, doesn’t it?
I remember hearing this comment when I watched the Reacher movie. I served, and none of those reasons were why I joined.
Sure, I am a patriot, and my father and his brothers served. But, I joined because serving in ground combat in war is the ultimate test of manhood.
I served in the Airborne Infantry and in Special Forces. I graduated from Ranger school. Most everyone I served with joined to test themselves in the ultimate arena. Does that mean we joined up to find a legal way of killing? Were/are we psychopathic killers?
No, again, it wasn’t the killing, it was the chance to test ourselves as men. Did we want war? Only as the opportunity to take the test. I expected to not make it past 30. I was good with that. As a Christian man, I knew where I was (am) going at the end, and was (am) willing to go there when called by the Lord. I have lived more than twice that length now and am still ready.