Technocracy: Blog

The extended 04 July gathering on my property went generally, and atypically, well. The attendees enjoyed each others' company, the never-ending chow and ale were good, and the herd of doggos and kittys tolerated each other.

Past the atrocities of the Southern California airspace and after diverting 40 miles south of the Phoenix Class B gaggle, things got quiet, so the niece and nephew started to babble as I took them back to their current homes. The niece asked if I had noted the 'plague' of cognitive dissonance. I (mistakenly) confessed my ignorance, giving my beloved and favorite school teacher the opening for a lecture. To condense her 45 minute treatise, all of my guests were searching for something better. To wit, is the grass greener on the other side of the fence; and can I get to the other side of the fence?

She was correct. The singular common characteristic for this crowd was that none wanted to talk about their job, but all, except my nephew and niece, desired to converse of another's profession.

The physicists wanted to talk to my niece about teaching in the public school system. My former jarhead friends wanted to talk to the physicists about some of the latest papers and wild-ass theories. The construction worker wanted to talk to my nephew about crunching big numbers and investment algorithms. An accountant wanted to talk to the plumbing contractor about construction projects. The construction contractor wanted to talk to my godson about small-unit tactics and weapons tech. My godson and his main squeeze (also a Marine) wanted to talk about anything other than jarhead-related subjects - mostly sex and beer.

I cooked the morning chow for a week (nobody died), played with the nearest doggy (or my wife), and listened to a good group of Americans. And on the night of 04 July, we watched the fireworks displays from two different cities viewable from the side of the chunk of granite my place sits on.

To be an American means that we can always seek something better; your opportunities may be limited for many reasons, but there is always the American concept that we can find something better. This is a mind-set that I have not seen in the Old Country among my relatives. And I have not found this mind-set to be common among Europeans. I have two guesses. One is that the EU has sufficient safety nets and a 'quality of life' that reduces the drive to find something better. The other reason is that Brussels has intentionally legislated out the ability to radically change your vocational pursuits.

Europeans, for all of their eccentricities (we all know that Americans have a perfectly normal range of behavior), I have found that the 'typical' EU denizen to be well-educated and literate. Whereas many Americans thrive on ignorance, but we are not stupid. Perhaps being smart and comfortable makes you stupid.

This is a holiday weekend for people in the USA. This holiday, ostensibly, formalizes the beginning of American colonials' path to political self-determination. The manner in which we Americans celebrate this 'birth' of a state is both glorious and abhorrent. By design, Fourth of July celebrations, unlike memorial day, are devoid of contemplation; and it is difficult to otherwise be both observant and introspective.

The wife and myself have a Fourth of July policy. Ignore the jingoism. Ignore the platitudes. Avoid the glitter of explosive and deafening displays. Embrace quiet gatherings with your family and close friends. Observe and evaluate your community. Bask in the boundless glory of what we are, and supposedly allowed to do and read. And last, but foremost, love your significant other on the morning of the Fourth like there is no tomorrow.

My tribe would be considered, by non-Americans, unusual, perhaps bizarre. 'Woke' advocates to 'Trumpers', arms collectors to gun-control fanatics, libertarians to socialists, highly decorated career jarheads to passionate anti-war protestors, flaming queer to staunch heterosexual. Christian to Buddhist to Muslim to Atheist. PhD-level scientist, construction, retail, soldier, Marine, rancher, engineer, and retired. Gen Z to boomer. Black, hispanic, muti-racial, caucasian, Asian, and one of unknown origin (he was an abandoned orphan). These people would not co-exist in Europe or Asia; I've spent too much time in Europe and Asia to not see these 'other' peoples for what they are.

As for the 18 (out of 27 invites) members of my tribe, we started gathering on my property Thursday morning. And I am about to leave for the local airstrip to fly out in my trusty little bird and pick up my niece, a teacher of math and music in a public high school. Our gathering will include family members, a godson and his main squeeze and two young people from his unit, dear friends (and their SOs) that I met during a misguided military stint over 45 years ago, and an aged mentor. And, of course, their dogs and cats.

There will be no incendiaries, other than the emotive type of explosions. There will be huge and loud arguments, gross levels of pandering, disgusting and nausea-generating displays of affection, excessive consumption of alcohol, many songs sung off-key and off tempo, total disregard for the King's English, and condemnation and praise of others not within the tribe.

This is America. We are America. Fucking deal with it, because the arrogant and plebeian and condescending mutts of America will be here for the duration.

The most common thread among recent comments has been about the reality of how the American military legal system is being portrayed; that is, some believe it is a bit over the top.

Guilty as charged. By design, much of what I write is hyperbolic. I believe that my portrayal of the way the UCMJ is unequally enforced, and used a blunt tool to beat down dissent and non-conformity, and punish members that have made an officer look stupid, is accurate.

Infractions and crimes are not equally enforced and similar UCMJ violations are punished unequally. An officer, no matter what illegal or unprofessional act was committed, is typically, at worst, told to walk away (recently, due to much criticism, a few officers have been reduced in rank, but were allowed to retire honorably, with a pension). For a similar offense, an enlisted member will more likely be incarcerated and/or kicked out on a less than honorable discharge.

I have personally seen a security violation where, for the exact same instance and action, a blatant consideration was given to the officer, while the enlisted member, who was actually less culpable, was sent to the brig for six months and given an other-than-honorable discharge. The officer was told that he had been a very bad boy and that he should really try to not be a bad boy.

When a typical 21st century junior enlisted soldier or Marine is compared to a company-grade officer, the knowledge/skills/attributes differ only in level of training. From OCS to TBS to IOC, officer training is longer and more complete and more intense when compared to enlisted boot camp and ITB (49 weeks vs 22 weeks). So why are a group of people that are older and better educated and better trained allowed more tolerance for criminal and non-professional behavior?

It is called elitism. And it is the antithesis of the meritocracy that the American military purports itself to be. Yes, again I admit to being hyperbolic, but it is generally true. The UCMJ is a sword of damocles that is held by officers over the heads of enlisted members in lieu of mastering the principles of leadership.

Before I am accused of ill-begotten references to the British, or of offering a skewed and inaccurate portrayal stemming from my sympathetic views for my relatives in the Old Country, it should be noted that, somewhat less hyperbolic, but similar experiences were provided by two U.S. Army ranger senior NCOs.

I have worked with many a fine British engineer. Competent and well spoken and open-minded. I have also worked with senior officers of Her (now His) Majesty's service. They are two different species. I am not certain which are more representative of the U.K. as a people.

In defense of the U.K., I will say that I would not be a pleasant person if I had spent a life eating English chow. Other than fish and chips and Shakespeare and Hawking and Timothy Berners-Lee, the English have nothing culinary or of the arts to offer the world.

And would the Brits please have Harry permanently return to his homeland? We already have our beloved royalty - oft referred to as the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

Use the Schwartz and heed the teachings of Yogurt.

Will post chapter 10 shortly. Threw out about half of this chapter - too much blah blah blah. That, and I was sick of editing. I hate editing; I really hate it.

Did I tell you that I hate editing?