Isn't a soldier out of his depth when discussing geopolitical affairs?

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....like a humble construction site worker contemplating architectural philosophy?
 
As are some presidents, Jimmy Carter comes to mind.

But soldiers are drawn from the upper 50% of the population in education and intelligence, so they do have a head-start on your average voter.
 
So your an elitist. You feel the military is a practical force while you adn you elitists think in the abstract. This is why you'll fail in life your because you can't see the facts. Too many time the theory fails, Why? No practical knowledge get over your pompous self. The theory of world conflict is what we do everyday.
 
Well now aren't we pretentious? Just because someone serves in the military doesn't mean that they're lacking in the depth and culture needed to have such a discussion. As hard as it is to believe, not every one of them is a high school dropout or the bottom tenth of their high school class.
 
Oh heavens yes!! We should only be listening to leftists in ivory towers who never venture out of lower Manhattan or orther leftist enclaves.
 
Not any more than anyone else. What makes a soldiers's opinion valueless?

And let me tell you about construction workers, they know architecture, as they have to try and build these buildings and know of the limitation in that field. That is more that just nailing a board to a wall, and since the architect is there to help guide them through iot, they can learn.

That dog catcher down the street may know a lot about opera
That pediatircian may be an expert on boxing
The barrista may offer some keen insights on diabetes research

Do not let the outward profession of a person taint your opinion of what they do and do not know.
 
Why do you believe this? We are allowed to discuss geopolitical affiars when 9 times out of 10 it affects us and our families in one way or another. And we as soldiers discuss an array of topics which is makes us just as curious as every other human being.
 
What makes you any more qualified than a soldier to discuss geopolitical affairs? Is your name Condoleeza Rice with a Ph.D. in the field? Just because a soldier is a soldier doesn't mean they can't be informed about what goes on around them and formulate their own opinion based upon that information. Isn't that how we all formulate our geoploitical opinions? Besides, most college educated, self proclaimed experts in anything and everything go through life with blinders on, see what they want to see and believe everything the almighty press has to say; never once doing research for themselves and formulating their own opinion, ...that's been my experience. At least a soldier usually keeps an open mind.

My case in point: the upcoming Presidential election. How are you going to base whether or not you are for or against a candidate for President? Are you going to base your opinion of the candidates on what has been reported by the press in the news or on TV? Or are you going to do the CORRECT thing and research their voting records in congress with regard to key political issues? Are you going to actually read and interpret the Democratic and Republican platforms, or just listen to all of the mud slinging rhetoric reported by the press? My guess is that you'll be like most other civilians and just beilieve what the press says, ...it must be true or they wouldn't report it right? Like I said, ...most civilians have blinders on.

The military actually trains and fosters attention to detail and attention to political issues both at home and abroad and, due to it's very nature, creates an atmosphere where just about every political and social issue known is represented and respected.
 
Well, if you would like, we could talk about the proper way to flip a burger when i order my big mac from you. I mean, if you want to compare brains, i will put my masters from UPENN on the table and my commission as an Army officer and we can talk about what is going on in Iraq in relations to the western world. True, not every soldier has a college degree, but we are far better sources on these topics than most. To be honest, i would rather talk with a "humble" construction worker than a pompous ass like you, at least the conversation will be real.
 
No more so than a civilian putting forth military strategy or opining on the reasons why our military is committed to offensives when that civilian hasn't done his homework on the topic in the first place.
One of the key indicators of this is the constant attempts to connect the WMD issue to our offensive in Iraq. Never mind taking a moment to actually read the Congressional Authorization. Just use a knee-jerk reaction to the musings of some media pundit who hasn't taken the time to read it either.
It's also akin to a civilian putting forth some criticism of a governmental action and calling it unconstitutional, without taking a moment to ever read the document he alleges was violated. The soldier has taken an oath to defend that document and (I dare say) there is a much higher percentage of military members who have read that document than their civilian counterparts.
I've served with "humble soldiers" and "humble sailors" of a certain rank who were graduates of military schools where their intense courses of study in international affairs would cause some academics alleging expertise in that area to break down and cry at the challenge. I also sat for meals in countless wardrooms where the rule is never to "talk shop" until the coffee is served after the main course. The conversation is focussed on art, literature and current events (among other topics). Most of those conversations could be video-taped and put on PBS!
 
Not at all. You'd be surprised at how well informed many soldiers are. And quite frankly given what soldiers study I'd bet they are better versed in geopolitics than the majority of people.
 
Yes. A neoconservative think tank is superior to any enlisted soldier. People should know their place.
 
Oh, absolutely. All enlisted men are thicker than the average Macdonalds milk shake and slower than an arthritic snail.

Your comment is akin to an English gentleman touring rural Scotland in the Nineteenth century and finding himself surprised to find, in a tiny little farmhouse in the undeveloped Highlands, copies of the complete works of Shakespeare and the Iliad.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Just because you are at the bottom of the heap does not mean that you can't see what's going on at the top.
Those at the top, however, very rarely see the bottom.
 
isnt a Geopolitical affairs specialist out of his depth when asking and answering questions in the military section?
 
No more than a college student is. I have heard a fellow graduate student preach his knowledge of the world repeatedly over the last year, while claiming that military personnel know nothing.

For example: He stated that everyone in the world hates the American military. When I asked him if he had actually talked to anybody from other nations, he waffled through with statements about opinion polls and editorials on the BBC. He was not impressed when I told him that I was received favorably by Italians in Naples and Rome, as well as being personally thanked by a Kuwaiti in his home country. Where as I have traveled to nine foreign countries and two British colonies (many soldiers have been to more than that), this "scholar" has never left the United States.

BTW. Do you know what publication is on the periodical shelf in nearly every PX/NEX that I have been in: "Foreign Affairs". Evidently soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines do read up on what they talk about. How about you?
 
I think not. People assume that soldiers are less than bright. I am happy to inform you that the soldiers that I worked with have plenty of intelligence.
For you to make a broad assumption about people you don't know makes you look the fool. Not us. So My suggestion to you is come play in my world for a few days. I doubt that a Lilly livered person like yourself would last much more than that.

A soldier is an individual trained to do many things well. Adapt to situations that may or may not be in his/ her job so that enables most soldiers to do your job when your dead and gone. So until your able to do my job then I suggest that you not give your thoughts to the public.

Geopolitical affairs ultimately end with a soldier one way or another. Either by the implied use of force or the use of it. Both weigh heavily on the parties involved.

So get over your pseudo-intelligent idea's and get back to packing fudge.
 
It depends on the soldier, just as a humble construction worker might be the genius behind the building. My father was a contractor, a designer, an architect -- he put more details in his drawings than any architectural firm, and all without a degree.

Do not judge by a job -- get to know the person before you put a blanket label on them.
 
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