Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You finally made some rational sense. Yes, OP, go with this. If you become a Marine and complete a tour you will be in the 1%, regardless of your looks. 99% of humans will not be able to do what you did, and that will feel pretty cool.
Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment.
Just while we’re on the subject of rational sense – I don’t feel we’ve finished with the subject of ‘doing’ versus ‘being’. With respect to one’s world view, common or rational sense is either (a) all we know, or (b) a smaller part of something bigger. I tend to think of wisdom as being bigger than rational sense, but again it depends on beliefs with regard to how things are. In one sense, it is exemplified by our two apparent different views of Robin Hood. In the context of the OP, what I’m saying is ‘yes, be a marine, …but have a view on the bigger picture’. Get wisdom.
And here is where ‘doing’ does come in. Focus some of your doing onto your being, and you will develop a healthy self-image, for the right reasons, because of ‘who you are’, rather than ‘what you’ve achieved’. What you do should (and indeed does) spring out of who you are. Of course there’s a fundamental assumption in my world view here – that ‘who you are’ has high importance / value.
Here’s probably a useful reference – I’ve not read it, and have no idea about the authors world view, but this type of literature is useful and has a place. If it’s not for you, that’s ok.
There can be "spontaneous order" where us little guys simmer from the bottom and work our way up to the top by our ingenuities and clever thinking
Or the people already at the top "form obstacles" so that us little guys never reach the top, they always have an oppressive hold over our ingenuity -- this is a "designed system"
The problem is with a designed system, is that the people at the top aren't perfect angels; they're more like pet owners and we are their clipped and emasculated pets in a choreographed circus called life
They can lie and cheat and raise prices on whatever they want, "because that's just the way it is"
Everything we ever do now, they predicted we will do because it was designed that way
They shrug when people are struggling like blind people groping in the dark trying to find their way through the maze
What does this have to do with a person wondering about their value in society? As per the topic thread?
If it's always been "Us" versus "Them," with us being "Them", and there's not going to be any change whatsoever, and we only have one life in the material/physical realm, why not rise above the madness or try to? Isn't it madness to conform to a ridiculous pecking order you don't agree to? Think novel thoughts, break free from shackles people try to put on you, and "outsmart everybody who's ever lived" if you can.
Be careful when you go in and speak to this Marines recruiter also
If you question him on these sorts of things, or express doubt about joining, he will employ psychological games on you
He may even disparage you into joining, disparage your intelligence, or even downright say the evil things about you that this thread you made describe or make suggestions assumptions about you that go against your heart
If it gets to that point just walk away
If it doesn't get to that point, proceed with caution
A Marines recruiter, knowing I was backing out, went nuts on me trying desperately to get me back (this was before the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) -- until it devolved into insults on my character and personality -- I hung up on him
I say get your dignity up and go from there RandomGuy
I used to be 18 years old
Last edited by Wannabeliber; 12-02-2015 at 03:32 PM..
Be careful when you go in and speak to this Marines recruiter also
If you question him on these sorts of things, or express doubt about joining, he will employ psychological games on you
He may even disparage you into joining, disparage your intelligence, or even downright say the evil things about you that this thread you made describe or make suggestions assumptions about you that go against your heart
If it gets to that point just walk away
If it doesn't get to that point, proceed with caution
A Marines recruiter, knowing I was backing out, went nuts on me trying desperately to get me back (this was before the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) -- until it devolved into insults on my character and personality -- I hung up on him
I say get your dignity up and go from there RandomGuy
Hear, hear.
Don't confess or confide personal stuff at interviews, that is an absolute no no.
I was proper wet behind the ears when I was younger. After leaving Uni I was in my first job for 8 years before leaving. Initially I thought my boss had my best interests at heart, because that's the trusting family background I had - why would anyone else be any different? I couldn't have been more wrong. He was a professional carrot dangler. From that point on I've been wary about trusting bosses until I've found that what they say and do lines up. The people you can trust are likely to be your peers. Play it level headed with authority figures.
The spirit / attitude behind the robin hood story is to do with freedom from oppression of the wealthy against the poor, primarily, and it uses the idea of equitable distribution of wealth as a means to convey it. The ultimate push back on oppression is revolution, which unfortunately doesn’t happen enough.
One of the annual musicals at school one year was ‘Oh, what a lovely war’ - I had absolutely no idea of the origin of this phrase until I watched the above video a few weeks ago (I’m 42 now!). Watch it, and you will see how everything, particularly malevolent control and oppression, is a rich man’s trick. If you’re thinking ‘I can’t be bothered even clicking on it’, then you should know that the German trucks in WW2 had Ford engines in them, and the whole German nation and Hitler’s cause in particular, was funded from….guess where?
Be careful when you go in and speak to this Marines recruiter also
If you question him on these sorts of things, or express doubt about joining, he will employ psychological games on you
He may even disparage you into joining, disparage your intelligence, or even downright say the evil things about you that this thread you made describe or make suggestions assumptions about you that go against your heart
If it gets to that point just walk away
If it doesn't get to that point, proceed with caution
A Marines recruiter, knowing I was backing out, went nuts on me trying desperately to get me back (this was before the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) -- until it devolved into insults on my character and personality -- I hung up on him
I say get your dignity up and go from there RandomGuy
I used to be 18 years old
I do plan to ask a lot of questions, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. If the recruiter gets like that, I could just find another one to talk to. Not only am I interested in serving, but I also want to make a new start in which I can leave my low self-esteem and bad memories behind.
I'd try to get a position where you can take what you learn and apply it to the real world
If I could go back in time I would learn how to fix trucks, take them apart and put them back together
That way I could be an independent problem solver instead of shelling big bucks to have my vehicles fixed
I would have tolerated that sort of role in the armed forces but nothing of course is guaranteed
I knew a Walmart store manager around 2005 who used to be a Cobra helicopter mechanic in the Marines and loved it, but that was Desert Storm era, definitely pre- Iraqi Freedom
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
