Like this:

I recently took a trip to Oklahoma to visit my sister and her husband, which is why I’ve been away from the blog for so long.  Anyway, that’s not the point.  Her husband, is in pilot training for the Air Force there, and they live on the base.  Just a few thoughts on that.  It’s like living in a police state.  It totally reaffirmed my decision to not join the military.  You just give up so many of the rights that you normally enjoy in the land of the free.  You can be stopped at any time, and you have to be able to produce ID, and if not, I’m not sure what happens, but potentially jail (I realize that technically this is a law in the rest of the US too, but one that is never ever enforced).  The real kicker for me though, is that the national anthem will come on over the base-wide PA system (USSR anybody?) and everyone has to stop what they’re doing to salute or put your hand over your heart and look at the flag.  This includes cars.  If you’re driving, you need to pull over and do the same.  Now, I mentioned flags.  I figure none of my readers have been to Nazi Germany or Communist Russia, however many of you may’ve read 1984.  It’s exactly like that, there are flags EVERYWHERE!  It’s fine if you’re patriotic, but seriously, the feeling of nationalism felt on a military base is palpable, and a little sickening.  Some of you will get mad at me for this, saying “if you don’t like America, you can leave!”  I do like America though, it’s probably the best place in the world to live, it’s the best of all the countries I’ve been to, but I think strong nationalism is incredibly dangerous, even if it is for America.  People always say we should get rid of all religion, because lots of wars are fought for religious reasons, but far more wars have been fought for no other reason than national pride.  The only place I’ve personally been with a strong of national fervor as was seen at the military base, was Laos (it still wasn’t as strong as the base though).  For those of you who don’t know, Laos is a tiny, impoverished nation in south-east Asia, next to Vietnam.  They also have a communist government.  In the first city we went to, Luang-Prabang, there were flags in front of almost every house and place of business.  There were not only Lao flags, but hammer and sickle flags, everywhere.  As Laos is a real police state, much of this is probably because they feel intimidated into doing it.  The funny thing is that I felt more at ease in the communist police state that oppresses their people than inside a military base.  Granted, the Lao government is a lot easier on western tourists, because they bring much needed money into the economy, but you’re still subject to the laws, just like everyone else.

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