Comments on: A life with purpose

By: Bookworm Room » The military — a life with purpose

Bookworm Room » The military — a life with purpose — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:22:15 +0000

[...] understand the warrior ethos. I therefore thought it would be timely to reprint in its entirely a post I did in October 2008, after a very satisfying Fleet Week visit to the USS Bonhomme Richard (courtesy of the Navy [...]

By: What’s not to like about the Blue Angels? | Right Wing News

What’s not to like about the Blue Angels? | Right Wing News — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:22:17 +0000

[...] — and this is something I’ve commented upon after every interaction I’ve had with men and women in the American … — the Blues manifestly love their work. Each person with whom we spoke felt that his (or her) [...]

By: Bookworm Room » What’s not to like about the Blue Angels?

Bookworm Room » What’s not to like about the Blue Angels? — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:24:27 +0000

By: Bookworm Room » Reminder to Bay Area residents to join the Navy League

Bookworm Room » Reminder to Bay Area residents to join the Navy League — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:09:30 +0000

[...] A life with purpose Share With Others: [...]

By: Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys..

Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:23:10 +0000

H&I Fires 17 OCT 2008…

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That’s only polite.

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Lip-smackingly d…

By: Al

Al — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:43:02 +0000

Living life meaningfully with a purpose means that you are serving some truth greater than yourself. Like the US of A. Every time I walked back to the BOQ from serving a 40 hour “alert” in a Launch Capsule I felt a sense of satisfaction and achievement. And the men and women around me also felt that and supported it.
I suppose that part of the rage the the Libs feel is that they never have had that defining experience. They have never felt the satisfaction of a meaningful job well done.Probably because they have never subjected themselves to the intellectual discipline to see it. Or want to do it.
Al

By: NavyOne

NavyOne — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:22:46 +0000

The thing about the military that I most love, is that it is completely normal. After living in Berkeley, Santa Cruz and some other wacky towns, I cherish the normality of it all. It has also concreted my thought that drugs are very dangerous to society. The “Zero Tolerance” policy of the military keeps people grounded and focused on the mission.

Thanks Book, great post.

By: David Foster

David Foster — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:48:25 +0000

Suek…regarding the search for security, I’m frequently reminded of a passage from Walter Miller’s great novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz:

“To minimize suffering and to maximize security were natural and proper ends of society and Caesar. But then they became the only ends, somehow, and the only basis of law — a perversion. Inevitably, then, in seeking only them, we found only their opposites: maximum suffering and minimum security.”

By: suek

suek — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:23:11 +0000

>>As a mother, I want them to live perfectly safe lives…>>

Believe me when I say I understand, but there ain’t no such…!

In addition, when there’s no risk, there’s no reward. Young people want to go forth and challenge the world – it’s part of youth. When you have wonderfully planned out safe lives, young people sometimes choose to rebel and take a course that you and I may know will lead to some sort of disaster – even if only in a societal sense – but they see as an adventurous.

In other words, the security made by the Greatest Generation let to the Free Love and Anti-war generation of the Vietnam era.

Better to choose their battles, and then let them fight them – if you’re clever enough!

By: Oldflyer

Oldflyer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:36:47 +0000

David, you struck a chord. After my Navy career I flew for various airlines (unsuccessful ones). Many folks would find it simplistic, but I really enjoyed taking people where they wanted to go and found it fulfilling. I especially enjoyed the holdiday seasons.

At the small airlines for which I worked there was frequently a strong sense of camaraderie among the crews (and not the kind some people like to imagine). There was a community effort to present the airline in a good light and make the whole thing work. Too bad, but good intentions don’t trump poor management.

So, it is not just a military bonding thing at all. Still, in better military units it can be very intense. My closest friends today are squadron mates I served with in the early fifties. Some are truly like family.