Any vets among the Audiophiles here?

I served 4 years right out of high school like many of my generation. It was either enlist in a branch of my choosing or be drafted. I didn't agree with the war, again like many of my generation. I still don't agree with the war. No disrespect to vets, but the bigger question is why has America been at war for almost my entire life, coming up on some 55 years now? If one includes Korea and WWII that's almost 70 years of continuous war.

I lean towards the conservative side of things, having spent my entire vocational life in public service. However, one would be hard pressed to look back over ones life and not see a pattern at work. Eisenhower warned this day could come. I hate to say it, but the big war machine of the MIC has led this country into one needless war after another and for what? One has only but to follow the money trail to find the answer to that. America could use a course correction rather than sending more youth to die or become injured for life in vain. As anyone could see during the last administration the troops were used but when push came to shove they weren't supported abroad, or by the administration once they arrived home battered and injured. Support the troops by bringing them home. That's my .02

Hear, Hear, Coltrane1.

I'm glad you brought that point to our attention. Our military budget is probably 4 times as large as it has to be to keep us safe. It's really just a way to justify channeling tax dollars into the hands of favored corporations year after year.

If 75% of our defense budget went against our national debt we would get out of trouble very quickly. Very little of the funding goes to feet on the ground. Most goes toward building unnecessary aircraft that will be parked in the desert, never having been used. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of them out there already. Still we buy more. But we don't take very good care of our veterans. We just use them for parades and photo ops.

Well, I suppose that the issue of War was eventually going to come up on this Thread. The reason I believe that we have been at war so long, is because we have a tendency to go and fight for those who can't fight or defend themselves. Jews in Nazi Concentration Camps, Koreans- Chinese-Philipinos enslaved by the Empire of Japan. We do this even to a fault (Vietnam). I don't think that there shouldn't be any misunderstanding, there are always going to be those who interpret our reluctance to fight as weakness. They will use this as a tool or excuse to torture, enslave, conquer, commit genocide against those too weak to defend themselves. Lest we forget the lessons of one of the most important Wars in U.S. History, the American Civil War. As horrible as War is, it was decided that accepting slavery for peace is way too high of a price to pay. How many gave their lives for that principle. I think that they believed the monetary cost was the least of it.

Coltrane and MJ -- Can we just leave the politics of war out of this thread? Before you flame me, the thread is about audiophiles who also happen to be vets. Can we just let it go at that?

Thanks.

Leaving out the Politics of War, sure. Leaving out the Politics of Slavery? How can you do that to something that is just wrong on so many levels, and transends Politics on all levels? Slavery still continues even till this day, unfortunately because of that, War is not far behind. The only way to prevent the horrors of War is to eliminate Slavery. Just wasn't done soon enough prior to the Civil War, and damn if this Country didn't pay for that. Have we learned anything from that History? O-kay, I will keep it on Stereo's from now on-Sorry!