I was browsing the New York Times' coverage of the aftermath of the Florida primary when I came accross this quote from the former mayor of New York City:
“John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States,” Mr. Giuliani said. “He is an American hero.”
This disturbs me greatly. It is not the endorsement of an old, burnt-out PTSD'd loon who, having been tortured for years came around on the issue and voted for a bill allowing torture only when it was sugarcoated with legislation he wanted to pass, by a has-been New York mayor whose dwindling political significance was renewed by the greatest domestic crime of the 21st century (so far) that disturbs me. It is, instead, his use of the phrase "commander in chief of the United States."
There is simply no such thing.
The leader of the executive branch of the federal government of the united states was, until about 2002, referred to as the President of the United States, and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Somehow, during post-9/11 panic, the two got melded in some camps into the hybrid that Guiliani used today.
This is a step in the wrong direction. We're not there yet, but "commander in chief of the United States" seems to imply that we are obligated to obey the orders of the President, because he is our Commander in Chief. We are not. We are not because we are, for the most part, not honored members of the Armed Forces. Those who are are, indeed, obligated by oath to obey the orders of their Commander in Chief, the President of the United States.
However, I have not forfeited my rights to follow my own conscience, and therefore need not obey any man, even the President.
This turn of phrase is insidious, it is spreading. From the mouths of people I know and hold dear I have heard "He is our Commander in Chief," repeated in many forms.
This is how we throw our nation away. Those who would take our freedoms for power or profit need not, they'll simply have it handed to them with phrases like this.
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"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
-Dwight Eisenhower
the dude knew what was going to happen.
-Billy
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