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[dougin]

How does one get off saying that anyone in Iraq is defending my freedom in Athens, Ga? I may not be as disconnected from the world or the war as it sometimes seems, but how does Iraq have anything to do with domestic freedoms

Comments

[shanoyu]

The fact that someone is serving on the behalf of the Government does not justify that Government's actions, though the service itself is commendable in so far as they are employed and trained for the express purpose of serving the public good.

However, someone in Iraq is defending your domestic freedom. That is the nature of the volunteer army; the alternative to the volunteer army is the conscript army (i.e., a draft). If no one volunteered, there would be no volunteer army. Therefore, volunteers prevent the existence of a conscript army, which, I am implying, would be a serious threat to your domestic freedom.

I am aware that this is most likely not the context in which the point was raised.

[dougin]

place-holding is definitely the most passive way to defend another's rights.

But, I guess, technically, you're right-ish.