How many times in your life have you heard a member of Congress or someone on TV say “we can’t afford it” when talking about something small but very important? It’s been happening my entire life. We can’t afford it? They’re putting seven times the annual budget of the EPA into immigrant detention.

But generally speaking, a system predicated on civilian control of the military means that contempt for your fellow citizens is uncommon. It was genuinely astonishing to hear another federal employee view Americans in that way. And in any case, I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately

I remember being struck by the emotional hyperbole of it all, especially because it seemed so contrary to the public servant ethos that permeates the military. Maybe it’s because the Navy by and large is not a forward facing service - unless you’re w/ SPECWAR, combat is more of a series of buttons.