Posted on Jul 16, 2015
SGT Ben Keen
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Some people may be a little let down if you haven't read the Marine Corps Times article that outlined why Gen Mattis will not be running for President. While I think most of us would enjoy seeing his name on the ticket and it could result in a higher Veteran turnout to the polls, sadly we must remain in the land of what-ifs.

Yet, in the article, Gen Mattis made what I think is a great statement. He feels that he doesn't "have a bread enough perspective" and that it's time for younger Veterans to answer the call to continue to serve by running for public office. We already have Veterans serving in Congress and the Senate which is a great start but the question is what are some of the interesting perspectives a Veteran can bring to the White House?
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Responses: 11
Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
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Resolve. I think that's the right word to use.

With a veteran, you get Purpose & Resolve. With a politician, sometimes the willingness to Compromise to accomplish "some of the goal" results in a situation where no one is happy, and things are worse than they were before.

Using General Mattis as an example, I don't think we would have a "Death by a 1000 cuts issue." I don't think he would sacrifice his overarching philosophy to attain "parts" of a goal. That would be a hollow win. If he couldn't accomplish the goal correctly, it wouldn't be worth having.

As a generalization, veterans have a very Black & White outlook ethically. Politicians, tend to apply a more "Situational Ethic" philosophy, which runs counter to our own.
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CPT Chase Sanger
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The classic novel Starship Troopers comes to mind as I read through the question and responses. While an extreme deviation from our society today, the one presented by Heinlein begs the question...would that actually work? A minimum of two years federal service required to serve in office or vote. It was a controversial idea in 1959 when the novel was published and I'm sure just as controversial today.
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SGT Ben Keen
SGT Ben Keen
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CPT Chase Sanger - I think the ideas expressed in Heinlein's book would be just as controversial today as they were in 1959. With such a small percentage of the total American population serving in some sort of federal service, many people would not have the right to vote or run for office. And when I mention that population, I'm not just looking at the DoD but the USPS, DoE, DoJ, and all federally held jobs out there.
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CPT Chase Sanger
CPT Chase Sanger
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This is true. I wonder how many people would sign up for their two years knowing that they would be able to vote and hold office afterwards though, and that was the only route possible to those two things? We will probably never know because it will never happen in this country. It is fun to think about though
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
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SGT Ben Keen CPT Chase Sanger I have a feeling that exercising civil rights will be one of many reasons people sign up for service, just like the variety of reasons people join now. Some do it for education, some do it for stability, some do it to escape other things. I don't think the reasons would actually change. Sure there might be a couple extra, but there are hundreds already.
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SSG Intelligence Sergeant
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You know, I am honestly not sure how a difference a veteran would make. In the last couple of elections, unprecedented amounts of vets were elected to Congress but not much has changed on a national level yet. As for the white house, I think for sure there would be more reluctance to cut the defense budget. Interesting question to think more on.
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CPT(P) Aviation Combined Arms Operations
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Samuel, you are correct in your thinking!
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