51 (edited by xeno syndicated 28-Feb-2012 06:29:59)

Re: Kill for your country?

> The Blackfish`` wrote:

> The phrase "for your country" is rather broad.

Granted.   But this is besides the point. Whenever your country's soldiers are sent into harm's way it is assumed that it is always "for your country" somehow, for the government would not have sent soldiers into harm's way if it weren't.  This is the discretion that governments have.  They determine whether sending troops into conflict would be "for your country" and to what extent it would be "for your country".  It is not the soldier's determination.  All the soldier is required to do is to trust government not to send them into harm's way if it weren't "for your country". 

The issue is that there seems to be an unwillingness to kill for one's country in the event that person's government claimed that it would be for one's country to do so. 

Is this because people do not trust their governments to determine their country's best interests and when killing for those interests would be warranted?

Re: Kill for your country?

> xeno syndicated wrote:

> > Zarf BeebleBrix wrote:

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/correlation.png

Are you suggesting that there being a cause for the prevalence of 'unwillingness to kill for one's country' is some sort of fallacy, Zarf?  Or simply that any analysis of any correlative evidence of a cause for the unwillingness-to-kill-for-one's-country sentiment is a futile endeavor?





I am saying, very simply, that just because two events correlate to one another (in this case, what you describe as individuals being increasingly unwilling to support their government and the expansion of globalization), it doesn't mean one of the events caused the other.  The two could be completely coincidental.  Causation could run the other way around (in that the increase in people desiring to avoid war has led to an increase in preference for international trade and globalization by reducing the political power behind the realist economic system).  Alternatively, a third variable could be the result of both factors.  Either way, this little observation is in no way a justification for any type of change in personal stance.


Plus, your whole stance is based on a flawed interpretation of the past (you are attempting to generalize 50+ years of individual's opinions across the world, yet only have a relatively small sample population from a small portion of time).  So yes... this would be impossible to actually test.

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Re: Kill for your country?

Please show me where I claimed globalization has caused the unwillingness of people to kill for their country.

54 (edited by Zarf BeebleBrix 28-Feb-2012 20:41:10)

Re: Kill for your country?

> xeno syndicated wrote:

> Please show me where I claimed globalization has caused the unwillingness of people to kill for their country.


Okay.




> xeno syndicated wrote:

> "If I lived in US, I wouldn't enlist under the current gov. I'd probably lead the rebellion if things got worse."

I have noticed sentiment to be quite pervasive in many countries, in particular in those countries (like Belgium) where you would not expect to find much of it.  What is it about the system (a system which is becoming more or less the same from one country to another with the spread of globalization) that has resulted in the pervasive sentiment that the system is not a system worth killing to protect?




You very clearly state that opposition to defense of the current system is growing.  "I have noticed sentiment to be quite pervasive in many countries, in particular in those countries (like Belgium) where you would not expect to find much of it."

You also very clearly state that the cause of that increasing opposition is the current government systems in power.  Furthermore, you claim that these systems have been homogenized as a result of globalization.  "What is it about the system (a system which is becoming more or less the same from one country to another with the spread of globalization) that has resulted in the pervasive sentiment that the system is not a system worth killing to protect?"




If you weren't attempting to blame globalization for an increasing lack of support for established governments, then fine... we don't have much to argue about, then, and this simply served as an effort to clarify your stance.  Either way, whether or not it was your intent, the above statement could very clearly be interpreted to be an indictment of globalization as the cause of decreasing pro-government sentiment.

Make Eyes Great Again!

The Great Eye is watching you... when there's nothing good on TV...

Re: Kill for your country?

Well, I don't think I outright blame globalization for it.  I simply stated there was a correlation and nowhere did I indicate it as being the cause.

For an argument's sake one could take the position that it is the cause, I suppose.  I would rather argue that government's loss of legitimacy as a result of its association with 'crony capitalism' is the cause.

Re: Kill for your country?

Association with? They're democratically elected.

Be direct. Come out and say it. The idiocy of the people is the cause for a lack of legitimacy among those they elect. They've lost faith (rightly, IMHO) in themselves.

Bunch of babies.

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