Ciao.

Second, the issue is (remember, there’s an issue here), the issue is legalizing things like gay marriage and birth control in the Roman Catholic Church.

Some people do things because they are morally right. We know slavery is wrong, yet it was continued because it was profitable.

And the US didn’t abolish slavery because it was wrong, but to hamper a military enemy.

It is wrong to discriminate against gays. That’s enough for some people to advocate against discrimination. That it’s wrong.

Only a Conservative would need a profit motive to do the right thing. Only a Conservative couldn’t imagine doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.

And that’s very sad, for them, for you, and for humanity. Imagine, the only thing that matters is profit!

Pathetic bastards, huh!!??

This does not take into account the loss of life on both sides and the unhappiness of being ruled by the Romans.

Morally and ethically you are right and my argument is specious.

WWII brought the US out of the depression and the infrastructure we built brought about the biggest boom in our history. I am not sure how the accounting works for us and the war cost to the ROW was horrendous. We were lucky to come out unscathed from a capital stand point but the loss of lives can’t be measured. We lost at least one dead certain president and who can calculate the value of the thousands of fallen.

No spoils anymore, the cost of war is prohibitive. The cost of a defensive posture brought down a major world power and and it is damn near squeezing us dry.

The cost for defense will always rise, because no matter how well you build any perimeter, the bad guys will always find a way in.

Is it all truly needed?

Yes, and no. Much of the research will never see the light of day, but some will. It all costs money.

Some of the research will be diverted from military use to civilian, but it still costs money.

One day, all militaries will be disbanded. This is as inevitable as night and day, but will not happen any time soon. Until it does, we simply have to pay the price.

Dig up the monetary cost of any war throughout all history and show me the one that cost nothing. All militaries need their pews and coffers filled.

War is an expensive business. It’s expensive, it’s dirty, it’s unforgiving, but, like religion, still a business.

You wanna change who gets recruited? Offer the disadvantaged non-military-affiliated choices with guaranteed annual pay-raises, then we can discuss who is being unfair to whom.

The military needs bodies too. We no longer live in a safe world of peace and detente. We live in a world where there is a much higher fatality risk with enlisting.

So what does the military do? They target minorities with financial hardship and now need to target women too. They need to be more ‘diverse’ and open minded to meet recruiting goals. It’s not really ethical, exploiting people who are disadvantaged, but it’s life and has gone on for thousands of years.

Sadly, there’s *always* an ulterior motive. No one does anything purely for the ‘right’ reason. Everyone has a different version of ‘right’ and so their own self-interest is going to get stirred into the pot in some measure.

(I can’t help but point out that some people do the right thing because it’s the right thing, not for a profit motive. Tragically, that’s impossible for Conservatives to understand.)