This country is not worth defending. Change my mind

[Straight Shooter]

You can also serve or do service to America by staying out of the judicial system, staying off taxpayer assistance, working legit jobs, pay your taxes, help others when possible, dont rely on others for your own protection, and by just being a mensch.

[Wake27]

I just wonder how much perspective the OP has comparing the United States to other nations? Has the OP spent time in any other places outside of the Continental United States? I've been to 23 countries outside of the US and I would be hard-pressed to want to live permanently in those other places. The individual freedoms I grew up with and still enjoy are much broader by leaps and bounds than anything in these other places - and I'm not including gun rights.

Freedoms we have or the ones we wish to restore are worth fighting and dying for. It's that good of a deal here!!!!

Agreed. I just got back from several countries in Europe and while none of them are likely often even comparable to the states, it’s a solid reminder of how great our country still is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thepatriot2705]

It's too cryptic. Serving doesn't have to be just in the military. There's law enforcement, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, The Peace Corps, etc., or I guess you could be "serving" as waiter or waitress in a restaurant. Certainly something is preventing this person from reaching their desired full potential, and it involves some kind of mistake at a point earlier in life. Because of this the OP is down on America.

Let’s just say this person made one mistake. A non violent mistake where no one was hurt. Said person owned up to the mistake and has turned their life around for the better and is an extremely productive member of society, yet that one mistake holds said person back.

[Diamondback]

It's too cryptic. Serving doesn't have to be just in the military. There's law enforcement, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, The Peace Corps, etc., or I guess you could be "serving" as waiter or waitress in a restaurant. Certainly something is preventing this person from reaching their desired full potential, and it involves some kind of mistake at a point earlier in life. Because of this the OP is down on America.

Hell, I'm 4-F because of a freakin' fish and shellfish allergy and you don't see me writing the country off for it...

[SteyrAUG]

Let’s just say this person made one mistake. A non violent mistake where no one was hurt. Said person owned up to the mistake and has turned their life around for the better and is an extremely productive member of society, yet that one mistake holds said person back.

So...Plan A can't or won't work. That is why there are Plan B's, because Plan A didn't work doesn't mean the country has gone to shit. Somewhere is a guy who did 5 years for something he didn't even do and only DNA technology has gotten him out of jail. He isn't spending all his time bitching about how Plan A didn't work and he got shafted, he probably realizes the system is and has been very flawed and he's making the best of his Plan B.

And guess what? My Plan A didn't work. I didn't even do anything wrong. I didn't make a mistake and now nobody will give me a chance. Circumstances ****ed over my Plan A and nobody showed up to rescue me. I was on my own and didn't even know what Plan B was going to look like.

Welcome to life brother. If you are very, very fortunate...you get one honest chance to take your best shot on a level playing field. A lot of people don't even get that. And even if you do get an honest shot, that doesn't mean it's going to work or anything.

I've been so up I didn't think anything could possibly go wrong, but it did and I've been so down I didn't have the first idea what I was going to do about any of it and I thought I was out of moves. Right now I'm content to function in the middle ground somewhere. If I have my bills paid and groceries in the fridge I'm pretty good to go. Let me get my house paid all the way off and that will be like winning the lottery and I'll be on easy street from that point forward until the eventual health problems that come with age show up.

And honestly, as much as I talk about rights and have educated myself on the Constitution, Founding Fathers, etc. and having even taken the oath a time or two, I'm so busy trying to keep everything moving forward I don't have time to blame the government or society about the hardships I encounter. And you better believe if I had ALL the money that I earned, I'd be doing a hell of a lot better. Lots of people are deep in my pockets and I get nothing in return.

[Buncheong]

It’s decades too late to change things, now.

Collapse is the only way forward.

[Honu]

Have lived in a few countries
They were great in some ways but only cause the US existed if the US did not exist they and most countries would not have goods services etc... and would be in constant turmoil and war all over the world

Yeah the Caribbean is great cause tourist money and again if no US no good safety or tourist money would be there

Imagine the world trade such as shipping without the US patrols etc....

It’s not about living it’s about enjoying your life folks live all over and many do not enjoy their life and would die to have the chance to be a US citizen

[26 Inf]

Why? What’s worth defending when Bureaucratic red tape prevents good people who made a genuine mistake from serving? And it’s not just that. Society as a whole defines you by your past and never lets you move on. My friend is going through something right now and I feel terrible for him.

Let’s just say this person made one mistake. A non violent mistake where no one was hurt. Said person owned up to the mistake and has turned their life around for the better and is an extremely productive member of society, yet that one mistake holds said person back.

You say 'non-violent mistake' and 'turned life around.' You are trying to hold your cards too close to your vest for anyone to really offer substantive advice/support.

Let me ask you this, what have been the results of your friends 'non-violent mistake' in another free country in which you or your friend would like to live? Would the mistake have held your friend back there? I can't but imagine that it would.

Taking in that context, it doesn't seem rational to say America isn't worth defending, does it?

Folks make mistakes all the time, they marry the wrong person, they say the wrong thing to their boss and get fired or loose all prospects of advancement. Sometimes, like me, they didn't see good enough to be a helicopter pilot, which certainly wasn't my fault.

What I'm trying to say is life/fate/whatever you want to call it isn't always fair. Good guys sometimes get bad breaks, bad guys sometimes get good breaks. The important thing is how you play the hand you are dealt - do you get back up on your feet and make the best of your lot, or do you let the bad break(s) defeat you?

If what you are describingt is a criminal offense that you feel shouldn't be a criminal offense, or with a lesser penalty, maybe your friend could become an advocate for change. Getting ahead isn't measured strictly by dollars, it is just as important to spend yourself doing something that fullfills you. The trick is finding that thing.

[yoni]

Your friend did something, and as a result I guess he can't go into the military.

This makes the country a bad place?

Look it is time for you and your friend to grow up.

When I was growing up, I was chasing a dream I wanted to race noto cross professionally. I was on my way and got to the point where a big dealership in an other state gave me sponsorship.Then in the spring of my junior year in high school I had a very bad crash during a race. That was it.

Dream over.

But I went on from there to serve in one of the best anti terror units in the world and go even higher than that. Today I am one of 2 partners in a company that is building thing I never could have dreamed of and will be the first company in the world to bring new technology to the marketplace.

So Plan A didn't work. Thank G-D, Plan B has been so much better. I am not famous, but it is so much better this way.

So both you and your friend need to get over it and find his plan B.

[The_War_Wagon]

I did move out of Philly to the suburbs. It's much nicer. Ih have other things I enjoy besides shooting and firearms, like music and playing guitar. I'm just frustrated

If you're closer to Joisey than the Amish, you're STILL too close to Philthy.