Rolling Stone Article

OK, I read the article in Rolling Stone about General Stanley McChrystal called, The Runaway General. I don't get it. Why would an Army Four Star grant access to, or even talk to a reporter from a far left hippie magazine like Rolling Stone? The article by Michael Hastings drips with anti-military condescension of the worst kind, and labels General McChrystal and his staff as uneducated morons who's sole purpose in life is violence and eating at McDonald's. What was the general thinking?

Having been in the military myself for 26 years, I have seen support for the military among the majority of the population wax and wane depending on what administration is in power, and what is the real world threat to our mere existence. One thing that never changes, however, is the Far Left's contempt for the military.

I believe that the Left hates the military, because the Left hates any form of authority, unless it's their authority and they get to control the shots. You would think that the Left would love the military, because the social structure of the military is absolute top down Totalitarian Socialism, which is what the Left loves.

You get to wear a uniform, just like China under Chairman Mao. The further up the Aparat you go, the more privileges you get just like in the USSR. You get free medical, dental, and housing. Sounds like Utopia to me. They have free shuttle buses that take you all over the base, including the housing areas, and on some bases, the shuttles run 24/7. You can get hammered at the club, and then ride the bus home. They have exchanges and commissaries, bowling alleys, gyms, jogging tracks, golf courses, MWR facilities where you can sign out all sorts of recreational equipment ranging from skis to kayaks. Some even have marinas where you can park your boat. Gee, doesn't this sound like a Socialist paradise?

I guess the reasons why the Left despises the military has to do with its mission and what it has accomplished for many fine Americans...keeping America's enemies contained overseas in order to keep them out of this country. That goes against the Lefts World Citizen world view. All cultures are equal, except for the American white male culture. Another reason is the fact that the military has been a vehicle that has allowed many members of the underclass to escape the Left's "plantation." I have seen many black men from the ghettos become military leaders with advanced college degrees, and retiring after 30 years service as senior enlisted managers. Many of them used the college degrees to get into Officer Candidate School or Officer Training School, to become commissioned officers, who then work their way up into the executive ranks of the military. They become commanding officers, and some become flag officers in charge of major commands. What's there not to like?

Maybe there is another side of the Left's hate for the military, and it goes beyond the Left's contempt for authority. It has to do with the fact that many on the left don't have what it takes to serve their country. They are weak and they know it. Therefore, they have to tear down that which exposes them for what they really are. I've always said what a lot of the hippies in this country need is two years of compulsory military service, and make sure that that service includes boot camp. I think that experience would straighten out a lot of attitudes, including the holier-than-thou condescension of Michael Hastings.