I wouldn't say it is evil, but it is selfish. Trading innocent lives for the money to get through college.

The alternative to a military-backed rulership by the rich elite is rule by the people (for about 3 seconds until somebody else with guns and money takes over). And normal people are stupid. That's why they do things like vote rich people with nice hair into office and join the military because guns are cool and chicks dig uniforms.

If not the rich elite in America with the military, somebody with guns and wealth is going to rule you. It's not like normal armchair internet dudes would have any power if the ruling class went away.

Well written and well argued. There are many ex military who have come to the same realization (like one of the posters here a 7 year Navy vet). This is an important topic and one I think you should keep writing about.  Since you don't personally have experience in the military, I think bringing in the experiences of those who have would make your argument even more powerful--hard to argue with actual vets who drank the Kool Aid themselves and live to tell the story of a manufactured patriotic paradigm. Well done.

It´s not evil to join the military because it is noble to defend yourself and your poeple within your borders. And being effective at it is also not evil. This is so you can be fearful so you never need to utilize what you have learned. In Norway all of the military branches are under the umbrella name "The Defense". 

Like most traditions within Martial Arts, you always start with a bow, then a block and then a counter-strike, usually met with the same ferocity or lethal force as it is presented to you.

So military becomes evil once it starts attacking! Especially if it moves out of its own border, no matter what justification it uses... It shall NOT ATTACK. 

Psychologically I believe every soldier can justify killing while defending themselves and their people on their land. I believe they will sleep well at night compared to the attacking soldiers who invade and kill others in their own land.

(The Norwegian military has lost face since it joined in Afghanistan and bombed Libya. It was NEVER designed to be part of such attacking. The pilots themselves have been interviewed and said it was without proper orders most of the missions. They should just bomb if they saw something suspicious on the ground. It went from "The Defense" to become "The Attack".)

As a side note - in Ancient Rome the soldiers spent 90% of their service time building infrastructure and buildings for the common good. Something to think about.

## [A response and a challenge](https://steemit.com/life/@blakemiles84/response-is-it-evil-to-join-the-military)

> Hitler was elected, the Nazis fought in the name of democracy, just as our boys do.



Hitler was elected (kinda of) but the Nazis did not fight in the name of democracy.

Here's some reading that will enlighten you on Hitler-Reich-Nazis etc

[Architects of Annihilation: Auschwitz and the Logic of Destruction](https://www.amazon.com/Architects-Annihilation-Auschwitz-Logic-Destruction/dp/1842126709/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471409163&sr=1-5&keywords=gotz+aly)

[Hitler's Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State](https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Beneficiaries-Plunder-Racial-Welfare-ebook/dp/B0012DHDNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471409163&sr=1-1&keywords=gotz+aly#nav-subnav)


[German Rule in Russia: 1941-1945](https://www.amazon.com/German-Rule-Russia-Alexander-Dallin/dp/0865311021/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471409365&sr=1-3&keywords=Alexander+Dallin)

[The Third Reich in Power](https://www.amazon.com/Third-Reich-Power-Richard-Evans-ebook/dp/B002IPZJ60/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471409442&sr=1-3&keywords=Richard+Evans#nav-subnav)

Also, the photo from the Bergen-Belsen mass grave does not add anything to your post.

I recognize the evils of militarism. Your post is angry and justifiably so. I enjoyed it.

Finally reading someone who ask the right question and give good arguments.  It is good material in need to be developedfurther more. Good job.

Hi! I am a content-detection robot. This post is to help manual curators; I have NOT flagged you.
Here is similar content:
https://steemit.com/life/@jakemccauley/3x4yxc-is-it-evil-to-join-the-military

Is it evil to join the military? probably not. (yes if you pull the trigger)

Is it evil to vote for the same criminal politicians year after year? Absolutly YES!

btw I don't want to think what would happen if there were no "good guys" in the army(in any army)

This one is actually impressive. Thank you for a good read. I couldn't agree more. We need to wake up and see things how they really are even if it's painful sometimes.  We just need to educate ourselves cuz the change starts with each one of us.

The problem with joining the military in Western countries, is it is sold to you as a route to a "career". The adverts never seem to mention dying from a bullet wound to the stomach in a foreign land.

Plus this automatic calling of heroes because you've joined the army is nonsense. It is a tool designed to make the idea of being in the military sacrosanct, and anybody who disagrees with the hero hypotheses an anti-patriot.

Therefore it's not evil to join the military, just misguided.

*Cg*

Jake ya nailed this one bud.

Rant all you want.  Would love to see you sh..t yourself  if our country was invaded or your at the Mall and someone starts shooting.  All the best!

I can understand, but I cannot agree. 
While yes, the American Military have not exactly had a good track record, cruel in most cases; their agenda's obscured and false, as they sneakily secure ways of stealing oil or opium to fuel a society that was born screwed up. It sucks, but at the same time it is survival of the fittest... regardless of how you view society, we are not as advanced and civil as we are lead to believe. Throw away all your guns and dis-band your military, you will see what I mean. Because there are people out there who regard your resourses with envious eyes... who slowly and surely, will draw their plans against a weak target they can benefit from. 
It is not a nice thought, but that is the world we live in... it is a thought masked behind media, religion, patriotism, hate, even love... but it usually boils down to the same old stuff.
I admite, it is a sad truth... we are just pawns in government plans; an inconvenience to them unless there is a war, but it has been the same story throughout history.
I am not proud of what I have just written, I hate to think of all the innocent people that have been killed... but this is our world. It has always been like this, and no matter how technologically advanced we become, no matter how united we think we are, it will always be there.

It is a sad truth. I regret my seven years in the Navy. It was awesome traveling the world on the taxpayers dime and feeling special whenever I strolled around town but I now know how false my perception of myself was. 

Years and years of TV, Movies, School and family Patriotism gave me a false sense of American elitism. Thank goodness I moved abroad and woke up.

This gif sums up how stupid I used to look.
 https://media.giphy.com/media/AT6nNPRQSVS1i/giphy.gif

Very true and well written

This is so obvious fact and suggest also solution of this aggressive reality... do not help elites in any way, because... if it's not good for everyone, it's no good at all !

... but the people who join the military perpetuate evil and death and destruction all over the world... it is almost impossible to excuse in this day where you could almost certainly find the truth about the military if you wanted to.

Can't live with them, can't live without them

You ignorant fool. You think its evil to join the military? - Some people love and respect their country and are willing to put their lives down on the line so nerds like you can type this shit out all day and speak your mind. I would join the military in a heartbeat if the country really really needed my help. I do not like the direction our government is going right now and dont want any part in what is going on overseas, however, if America needed to be defended I would defend it.  The Muslim Religion preaches hate, its a disgusting religion. Yes Christianity does preach some "hate" you could argue but not on the level of ISLAM. I am a SIKH, my family is from INDIA. You need to look up 1947 Punjab. Musims VS. Sikh people. They massacred so many of my people. Punjab was broken up into Pakistan and half stayed in Punjab. Muslims bring nothing but war and negative energy with them. It IS engraved into their religion.

you thinker, with all your thinking. stop it and go back to sleep or you might get other people doing that. HAH! Bravo!

I'm inclined to agree with you intuitively; however, the more I learn about people who were in the military, the more I respect them. I highly recommend listening to the [Jocko Podcast](http://jockopodcast2.com/) and [Martyrmade Podcast](http://www.martyrmade.com/). 

I think the average person is incredibly gullible and naive compared to people who have been in leadership positions in the military.

Also read this: https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@blakemiles84/i-m-a-former-green-beret-and-here-s-how-i-would-bring-down-bitcoin

There are some kinds of wisdom that you simply cannot learn as a civilian.

>This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification.  Seen so, war is the truest form of divination.  It is the testing of one’s will and the will of another within that larger will which because it binds them is therefore forced to select. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence.  War is god.

--from _Blood Meridian_

Some critiques simply aren't valid unless you have experienced the warrior lifestyle. I've never been in the military, but I tend to respect military people far more than keyboard warriors who don't understand the full scope of the situation. 

I'd like to say that an army isn't necessary in an utopia, but in the current moment, it is absolutely necessary. Note that this does not mean that I support wars at all. Smart commanders are very good at maneuvering to avoid conflicts while accomplishing their objectives. This is why they are often sought after in the business world.

<div>  <p>  This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.  </p>  <ul>        <li>      <a href="https://steemit.com/anarchy/@blakemiles84/a-friendly-message-to-the-steemit-anarchist-community"> A Friendly Message to the Steemit Anarchist Community </a>      by      <a href="https://steemit.com/@blakemiles84">  @blakemiles84 </a>     </li>        <li>      <a href="https://steemit.com/anarchy/@kennyskitchen/the-40-anarchists-you-want-to-be-following-on-steemit"> THE 40 anarchists you want to be following on Steemit! </a>      by      <a href="https://steemit.com/@kennyskitchen">  @kennyskitchen </a>     </li>        <li>      <a href="https://steemit.com/life/@jthej70/expounding-on-is-it-evil-to-join-the-military-by-jakemccauley"> Expounding On “Is It Evil To Join The Military” </a>      by      <a href="https://steemit.com/@jthej70">  @jthej70 </a>     </li>        <li>      <a href="https://steemit.com/life/@blakemiles84/response-is-it-evil-to-join-the-military"> Response: Is It Evil To Join The Military? </a>      by      <a href="https://steemit.com/@blakemiles84">  @blakemiles84 </a>     </li>      </ul>  <p> Learn more about  <a href="https://steemit.com/steem/@ontofractal/steem-linkback-bot-v0-3-released">    linkback bot v0.3</a>   </p>   <p>Upvote if you want the bot to continue posting linkbacks for your posts. Flag if otherwise.   Built by @ontofractal</p></div>

if the army was indeed defensive, it would be fine, but it's not ... it's an offensive army serving the interests of the FED and nothing else

We're in total agreement with regards to the sad reality of the military meat grinder. But I have to disagree with your statement about the content of Christian's holy book leading to burning and stoning people. That's not a true statement. The content of the Bible teaches its believers that they should be loving servants to all people, including their enemies. The Old Testament exists for background of how God worked through people to bring them back around leading up to Jesus finishing up the ultimate redemption for humanity. Was the OT pretty brutal? Yeah, it was. But God ain't no pansy. As for Islam and the Quran, that same message of love and servitude doesn't quite exist in the same measure to my knowledge. There are seemingly similar, but very different reasons for their extremism at the theological level.

If and when people use the Bible to commit atrocities, they're taking scripture out of context and bastardizing entire stories and contents to their will. What's the best way to turn people from the truth? Tell people the same truth with a few lies added in. When the lies are exposed the truth gets squashed with them. Which is basically how government propaganda works. Sounds like the same evil people to me. "In God we trust", right? Their god might be from a holy book, but it's the bad guy in the story.

I think we all know who to blame for this mess!
Just watch CNN/FOX/MSNBC they'll tell you..... PUTIN!!!
https://steemit.com/satire/@matherly/that-evil-dispicable-montrously-devious-vlad-putin-he-s-responsible-for-all-our-problems-and-then-some