The author was trying to shield themselves from the despair of political doomscrolling by reading books, but was dismayed to learn of Trump’s plans to declare a national emergency and use the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. The author speaks with anti-imperialist veteran friends who remind them that this is not the first time Trump has threatened to deploy the military against immigrants, and that actually carrying out such a plan would be a logistical and legal nightmare, requiring a massive expansion of the prison system at immense cost. The author argues that the only reasonable response for active-duty soldiers is to refuse to carry out these immoral orders, drawing parallels to the G.I. resistance during the Vietnam War. They advocate reviving networks of support like “G.I. coffeehouses” to provide a space for soldiers to organize and resist. Experts emphasize that troops have a moral responsibility to disobey illegal and immoral orders, and that immigrants are not the true enemy - it is the ruling class elite who are stealing from the working class. The author acknowledges the impulse to retreat into escapism, but argues that now is the time to collectively challenge these dangerous policies.

  • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    This is exactly why it will unfortunately work. You go to far too many doctors dentist whatever’s offices. You will see Fox News or worse. Even at the VA you’ll see Fox News etc. When it comes to the officer core and career military people you might see some push back. But most of the enlisted will be on board for this day one sadly.

    • NarrativeBear@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      Its amazing how much propaganda Americans are exposed to on a dailly basis.

      Hollywood basically a propaganda machine that always paints the US as a superior power.

      News agencies at all levels repeating the same stories from a predefined script.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      The military is about 60/40 partisan. But beyond that they are also extremely pro Constitution. It’s entirely possible that they agree mass deportations are necessary, but will not follow the illegal order to go round them up. There’s not a whole lot of hardcore MAGA beyond the low ranks because Trump has spent the last 9 years insulting the military in every way he can. Including denying casualties and stealing school funding for military kids. No amount of Fox News allows the combat arms community to forget stuff like that.

      The very idea that the military is all die hard Republican is a Fox News myth.