[LeslieBates]

This is not a review. This is simply a comment.

Before I entered high school I read STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert A. Heinlein. In this work, which was written in response to pacifist agitation, Heinlein explains how a military organization should function and more importantly, why it should act this way. Heinlein also explains what he believes the obligations of citizenship are.

I was mentally blown away.

When I was in high school I read THE FOREVER WAR by Joe Haldeman. It was an anti-war novel written by a veteran of ground combat in the Vietnam War. It was written in part as a response to STARSHIP TROOPERS. This work was a virtual step by step manual on how not to run a society and fight a war.

First, shoot first and don’t ask any questions of anyone. The war began with the assumption that the loss of a colony ship was due to a recently encountered alien race. No attempt to communicate with the aliens is made. The first group of aliens encountered is simply killed as if the troopers were back in Vietnam. Later on we are told that the aliens are a group mind that is a priori incapable of communicating with an individual mind. It is only when a Terran group mind is created that communication became possible. I suppose that someone could drive a Nimitz class aircraft carrier through this plot hole.

Second, don’t ask for volunteers. Conscript the best and the brightest, no one can refuse the draft. And because the troopers lives belong to the collective they cannot withhold consent to sexual contact. Gang rape of women in the mixed gender units is shown to be the norm.

Third, collectivism is the future. Social engineering in practiced to the point that a collective mind is created. Communication, and thus peace, with the aliens becomes possible.

I was not positively impressed by this novel.

[LeslieBates]

Once upon a time ago I posted a rant on the subject of political authority on my blog. Here’s the basic version without the complaint about rust:

One of the ideas that has been rattling about in the remnant of my brain is that a mere warm body should not exercise political authority. I acquired this thought from reading Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein about a decade before picking up anything written by Ayn Rand. The fact is that all forms of authority are based on knowledge and political authority is no exception.

But in the present system political authority is granted to any warm body without regard to their the actual state of knowledge. As a result some warm bodies have traded their votes for a material object such as an IPad or a wad of cash. Or worse they have traded their votes for the warm and fuzzy feeling of having been compassionate.

The result is out present state of our nation. Those who lack knowledge or simple concern for consequences should not have authority over another person, let alone the fate of a nation.

Heinlein’s proposed solution to the problem is relatively easy to look up for yourself. Or you can purchase a copy of Starship Troopers from Ace Books.

My solution to the problem is simply proper education in the obligations of citizenship.

The course would be similar to a driver education course as presently taught. The first part of the class covers The Constitution, the proper functions of each branch of government, the function of each clause and amendment, the duties of the citizen as the sovereign authority of the nation, and what happened when the Federal Government was allowed to enter the failure mode.

The second part of the course covers the function and use of the instrument of political authority, the personal weapon. This covers rifle marksmanship and maintenance. Also covered is the basic organization and tactics of the citizen militia unit.

While the citizenship course will not be mandatory, completion and a passing grade will be required to exercise the authority to vote.

[Author]

Posts