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Phillip Mol's avatar

I was once a member of one of the largest socialist organizations the nation has. They taught me discipline, gave me clothing with a cleaning allowance, full medical and dental, put me through several schools, taught me leadership skills, and had an elite job waiting for me when I graduated. That organization is called the US Navy and my billet was as nuclear mechanic on a fast attack submarine. Because this was back in the olden days we also minored in salty talk, carousing, and drink. Anchors away I say!

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Al Brown's avatar

Military service is not socialism. It's military service. Words have meanings.

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Phillip Mol's avatar

With all due respect perhaps you haven't truly understood just how words and meanings work. I have discovered many things we believe follow this paradox. A word and it's meanings are BOTH binary and a spectrum. For example alcohols who attend AA consider themselves sober while some of its members still drink coffee, tea, and sometimes even smoke tobacco. They consider themselves sober in the binary and consider it a sobriety break if they were to do something like consume cannabis while not a sobriety break while consuming the drugs nicotine and caffeine. Through this perspective I see the life and opportunity provided me by the service every bit as a form of socialism. In order to allow me the space to be the best sailor I could be the US Navy(the government) provided me with all my needs so I could focus on the task at hand. That is this old salt's perspective. Not looking to confront but to enlighten.

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