Originally Posted by
Schmedlap
It wasn't offense. It was concern about simple rules, like keeping one's mouth shut about personal political views, and a general concern about the health of the profession. There is a slippery slope.
A couple of years ago I took a polygraph interview for a criminal investigation. Prior to the polygraphed questions, the interviewer spent about 45 minutes asking me about my values, where I got them, and whether I had stolen anything ranging from a pack of gum to "someone's trust" to something of large monetary value. I didn't have all day, so I asked him why he was wasting time asking me whether I'd ever stolen a pack of gum when I was 5 (full disclosure: no). He explained that an individual doesn't just live 30 years of relative purity and then wake up one morning and decide, "I'm going to rob a bank!" There is a slippery slope that he descends down - he steals a pack of gum, then a CD, then a pair of sneakers, then a laptop, then a dirt bike, then a car, and so on. He doesn't start out robbing banks. I think there is a similar good reason for zealously guarding the a-politicization of the military.
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