After seeing Thom Hartmann’s recent video recapping Trump’s intentions when he wins office, I am sincerely frightened for our future. Rise & Fall of the Second Trump Reich - A Cautionary Tale
For me, the only time that I remember feeling such fear was in 1970 after the Kent State murders and seeing Cleveland TV news reports of some Kent, Ohio townies demanding that the Ohio National Guard bayonet all KSU students. Please see my article: When Demagogues & Incompetence Rule Innocents Die
Way back in high school I had already determined that I didn’t want to be used by the “powers that be” as an instrument for killing people. But with the draft board I had no standing as a “conscientious objector” because of my family’s traditional religious affiliation and because of the Selective Service Lottery, I knew I would be drafted after graduating from the University of Akron.
Seeing no alternative, I enlisted because the Army agreed to let me become a medic after graduating.
In the Army while traveling, we were required to wear our uniforms and I remember people openly hostile toward us, calling us “baby killers”. I also remember one “friend” calling me a coward for not going to Canada to escape the draft.
The times were troubled and confusing. Yet back then we (the young people) knew that our elders would not hesitate to sacrifice us to the gods of war in order to make themselves wealthy.
Too, on my mind, I remembered that my family members came to the U.S. and fought in the Revolutionary War. One received a land grant in exchange for his service. And. since the 1800s, my ancestors have served our nation in the U.S. military and/or as medical personnel in nearly every conflict or war.
As a result, I have never thought of abandoning the U.S. and to this day seriously maintain my Army enlistment oath to, “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”.
Today, I am a worried old man. Should Mr. Trump be re-elected, will I be forced to take up arms to defend my nation, my heritage, and my oath?
God help us all.
