[Al Swearengen]

Ok, I think everyone might be missing the point here. If we dont do something about the damage we're causing to our environment and the fellow creatures we share this planet with, all of the other problems wont amount to a fart in the wind. Even a dog knows not to crap where it eats. We just have the one Earth..."planet, life-sustaining general purpose, count: one" would be the nomenclature. And we dont yet have the ability to search out and colonize other planets, and likely wont have that option for several centuries. Meanwhile, we're hellbent on trashing the place. Oil spills, medical and toxic wastes being dumped into our oceans, the murderous practice that is whaling, nets that ensnare dolphins and porposes...these are things our navy could address. Rain forests being bulldozed...what happens when some superbug strikes the world's population and the cure is some obscure plant or animal that gets plowed under? As far as the military only serving one purpose (to kill people and blow things up), not true. That might be it's primary purpose (I wont even get into the concept that maybe THAT is something we need to address in itself), but there are MANY occupational specialties that have other uses, that is, when we're not actively engaged in killing each other. One example would be the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. And the National Guard are frequently called on for reasons such as relief efforts and aid. It just so happens that the military is ideally suited for such tasks. They have the budget, the equipment and the manpower, and they're in the ideal physical condition necessary to meet the challenges they face. Would'nt you rather have our military doing something worthwhile besides needlessly dying while trying to solve someone else's political problems? I cant even begin to tell you how many hours I spent at the motorpool putting a spitshine on a jeep. The whole "KILL KILL KILL" thing is fine for when someone needs killin (and I'm not sayin there aint plenty of people who need killin)...but what about the rest of the time? Nothing man ever does is perfect, but thats a pretty weak reason not to make the effort, and that'll be scant consolation when we've polluted/contaminated/killed off everything and all we have left is this big ruined/spoiled/wasted spent rock.