Martian_Expat
Life is an acquired taste
The world spins and men try their best to cling on.
User ID: 2860
If that is the case the Army will have a fine tightrope to tread when recruiting whites since its conservative and progressive factions have so different a view on it as an institution.
My first post here after being exiled from Reddit and having a long sabbatical from online commentary. I originally wanted to do it when I saw the response to an even earlier Army Ad with Johnathan Majors (it seems to have been removed, likely because of the rumors of him being a domestic abuser) and was shocked at the comments, it basically read as a /pol/ thread and the dislike bar was 9/10 negative.
Digging a little further an anti-war sentiment seemed to have spread among American conservatives with me first noticing then and there. It seems like a total flip from the 00s where being a Republican meant being pro-military no matter what. Veterans was almost a fetish to rally around, politically, from what I recall.
Recently (as in yesterday) finished The Lone Samurai, which is a biography of Miyamoto Musashi. Have just begun the Dune series.
The most interesting book I have read in the last couple of years was probably Seeing like a State. In particular, there was a section about how surnames arose due the state needing a more precise naming convention to track down specific people. There are many Johns in England, there are fewer John Smiths, there's probably only a couple of John James Christopher Smiths. While we, or at least I, thought surnames were common throughout history it is apparently a fairly recent phenomenon outside of royalty.
It also delved into failed attempts from states at making the world 'legible' to themselves, like how it tries to homogenize a forest to extract lumber, but removing all other tree species, plants and animals create a perfect condition for a disease to devastate this new orderly forest. This 'short-slightness' extends to city-planning as well as farming and many other areas.
I have a rule to finish at least one book per month and think this is a rather languid pace, but my bookshelf is steadily filling up.
American Achilles in his Tent
In the Trojan war the Greek overlord Agamemnon slighted his strongest hero (Achilles) by taking his war-bride for himself. Achilles withdrew to his tent and the efforts in taking Troy halted as nobody could oppose Hector--the rival champion of the besieged city--on the battlefield.
To me, it seems American Elites have made a similar mistake in modern time by slighting their traditional warrior caste.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/01/10/army-sees-sharp-decline-white-recruits.html
The Army's recruiting of white soldiers has dropped significantly in the last half decade, according to internal data reviewed by Military.com, a decline that accounts for much of the service's historic recruitment slump that has become the subject of increasing concern for Army leadership and Capitol Hill.
...
A total of 44,042 new Army recruits were categorized by the service as white in 2018, but that number has fallen consistently each year to a low of 25,070 in 2023, with a 6% dip from 2022 to 2023 being the most significant drop. No other demographic group has seen such a precipitous decline, though there have been ups and downs from year to year.
In 2018, 56.4% of new recruits were categorized as white. In 2023, that number had fallen to 44%. During that same five-year period, Black recruits have gone from 20% to 24% of the pool, and Hispanic recruits have risen from 17% to 24%, with both groups seeing largely flat recruiting totals but increasing as a percentage of incoming soldiers as white recruiting has fallen...
What was the offense?
There are many reasons (some stated, others merely insinuated) when you go looking at conservative forums, but they can all be classified under a feeling of institutional betrayal and subsequently that the American Military—even the nation itself—no longer represents them and their values. That they are to fight for a mere economic zone, one that doesn't even cater to their moral taste, instead of a country proper. In no particular order they complain about LGBT+ acceptance/promotion, Anti-white rhetoric and practices, entry of women in the forces, forced vaccines during COVID, futile wars for profit, fighting for others countries instead of defending the homeland, poor pay for potential deathly work, etc. etc.
Take a look at their new recruitment adds and you can find these complaints in various degrees among the comments: https://youtube.com/watch?v=luc9saxt_YQ
The dwindling pool of recruits comes at a bad time for the Washington Elite as it seems the US is having a harder time than usual being the world's policeman.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/11/conflicts-around-the-world-peak/676029/
Not a World War but a World at War
The past two years have seen the most conflicts of any time since the end of the Second World War. Just in the past 24 months, an astonishing number of armed conflicts have started, renewed, or escalated. Some had been fully frozen, meaning that the sides had not sustained direct combat in years; others were long simmering, meaning that low-level fighting would intermittently erupt. All have now become active.
The list encompasses not just the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, but hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, Serbian military measures against Kosovo, fighting in Eastern Congo, complete turmoil in Sudan since April, and a fragile cease-fire in Tigray that Ethiopia seems poised to break at any time. Syria and Yemen have not exactly been quiet during this period, and gangs and cartels continuously menace governments, including those in Haiti and Mexico. All of this comes on top of the prospect of a major war breaking out in East Asia, such as by China invading the island of Taiwan...
With several conflicts around the world that endanger American Geopolitical interests how will the Army try to boost their numbers of foot soldiers? Will its attempt(s) be effective?
I can think of several options available to them:
The Patroclus Option
Making a false flag attack, or letting an actual attack on American soil happen despite knowledge of it beforehand, to shore up support among the public. A common enemy binds groups together despite their differences and grievances. After 9/11 the America public was easy to whip into a warmongering frenzy and this support was used for two-decade long misadventures and futile nation-building in the Middle East to keep the Military Industrial Complex fed fat with death and capital. Though, many among conservative have seemed to developed anti-bodies to this tactic. Cries about the USS Liberty are frequent in dissident right circles and seemed to have trickled down into the mainstream. Some thoughts should also be spent on diversity being a negative here as you’ll have a harder time getting a particular group to fight when being a countryman no longer means being the same race/religion.
The Briseis Option
Appeasement and concessions to white men as a group. Highly unlikely I think, but an option nevertheless. Though, what it would look like I have little to no idea. Perhaps putting away the institutional opprobrium against them?
The Foreign Legion Option
Saw this option floated around on /r/Neoliberal and /r/Army. Guarantee citizenship for half a decade of service, or something similar. Many conservatives are in favor of an army boycott (like the one they have done against Bud Light), but warn that this option leaves White America at the mercy of outsiders with guns that the Regime will have an easier time moving around.
The Daedalus Option
Automate the combat with drones and AI, perhaps the most likely among the options (by my account), but a little to early to make the transition I think.
The Penthesilea Option
Put women en masse into the meat grinder. I think it the most unlikely option, though with the rise of robots this could actually be a viable path in some form. Making women drone pilots will be easier than making them army grunts.
The Midas Option
Make it more economically enticing for new recruits to enter the armed forces. Give greater pay and greater benefits. Perhaps even bring back war prices, such as foreign land or even women.
I have known for a while that many people in western countries have eaten themselves sick, both by the amount and substance of what we are eating. Sugar is in everything (especially so in the US from what I have read) and the 'three meals a day' rule, along with the saying that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!", is just bullshit. Personally, I always hated when my mom forced breakfast on us as a kid. I had just woken up! A conspiracy of Big Cereal no doubt (not even joking here).
But it took another while to truly internalize this and making a change myself. I got a sweet tooth. I admit it. But it's not that I don't have good habits: I am moderately active and can easily run a 10k or even a marathon if given a few weeks to prepare and I am on my feet at work (although it is not further physically demanding that that), I do some light martial arts too. So there's already momentum towards improvement.
However, to be truly healthy I need to get my eating under control. Firstly, I don't eat as much anymore. I fast quite regularly nowadays. Mostly a day out of the week at the beginning of the week, as of writing I have tried to stretch the fast and I am seventy hours into one (only drinking water and/or juice). It's very counterintuitive because we learn that we need to eat constantly to feel energized, but it is almost frightening how much energy you have after not eating for 'merely' a whole day. The tiredness do come eventually. I can feel it in me now, for example.
I would like to know from the more fitness-oriented, the health-nuts and the culinary inclined on what I should break my fast with? I'm thinking a thick chicken soup with boiled broccoli and some light garlic bread. I aim to drink mostly water, from now on, but when not then freshly pressed orange juice and milk. Soda I have promised to cut entirely, with the exception of parties. Thought about also drinking raw eggs, but have yet to try it out. Any other meals I can prepare so that it doesn't get too monotone (preferably I would also still like to eat other meats than chicken)? Perhaps there's a good YouTube channel to follow?
Am I on the right track towards healthy dining at all, or am I going wrong somewhere?
More options
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