If Socialism can't work, and true Americans hate Socialism,?

Some socialism seems to be necessary for decency and good government. For instance, handicapped people are not left to their own devices, and I guess the psychoradicals of the present Republican Party would call that socialism. But in many cases financial assistance is given to families that have a handicapped person in the family so that these folks won't be out on the street. They have educational assistance if they are well enough to attend school (special ed) and public events (handicapped Olympics).

The military is very certainly communistic but not socialistic.

Dominion over the individual in the military is total. They require of individuals great sacrifice, but give nothing in return. Witness the Republican refusal to give our vets from Iraq and Afghanistan a decent GI Bill to provide for their education.

Socialism implies some concern for the individual, and the military does not have that.

You are thinking too small on this issue.

First of all, the military exists outside of the Free Market, in some ways, and in it, in others:

It is a job, and it's a job with an extremely high commitment level - you are pledging to literally give up your life if need be.

Given that fact, they have to offer a lot of incentives to get people to accept that job.

All the health benefits, etc., are just another way of paying them. They could NOT do that, and increase their pay by the same amount, but it would be pretty close to the same thing.

I suppose the only thing that is inherently socialist about the military, is the fact that it's the Government employing them.

The military is about the only thing that I agree the Federal Government can do better than the private sector.

There are VERY few exceptions of what the Government does better than the Free Market, and this is one of them, mostly because it can be controlled by law, the court, the congress, etc.

If the military were employed directly by the people, then Donald Trump or Bill Gates, or the Google guys would have their own military, and could simply take over the country.

And your premise is wrong anyway:

Socialism doesn't just automatically implode, if it's only operating in isolated situations like this.

It's when the ENTIRE ECONOMY is socialist, that it collapses in on itself.

All other isolated instances of socialism (as we have MANY of in this country), can be bad ideas, and are a drain to the REAL economy (Free Market).

The collapse happens in stages - you keep instituting socialism, a bit at a time, and you pay for that, in decreased productivity, inflation, etc., so the people are worse off, but it's gradual, getting worse, the more socialism you institute.

The military is not a part of the general public. They live by different rules and DO NOT have the same freedoms that civilians have. They don't have individual rights as you do, as a civilian. They are a volunteer force that protects this country. If our military were run as you would have it, think what language you would be speaking, let alone the ability to type on the Internet.

The U.S. military instills a culture of dependency in its soldiers, so that soldiers find it hard to leave even if they want to.

There's always that fear in the back of their heads that they just won't be able to make it in the real world.

It's a lot like staying in an abusive relationship.

In the long term, this does far more harm than good, but the military isn't really known for taking a long term view of things.

Because the military is run like a machine. When a person signs up for the service they need to be provided for because everything they do is for the greater good of everyone else. He or she does not have the time to get housing, get food, get health care, or clothing. Being a public servant means giving up your own freedoms to allow everyone else to live free. Trust me all of that "socalism" sure isn't worth the loss of freedom to do what you want(be with family, do recreational activities, and live in safety). That is why our military people should be held with the greatest respect.

The USA is a socialist country, it started the transformation a long time ago. There is no fundamental difference between a highly socialistic country like Sweden and the USA, it is simply a matter of degrees or shades of red.

Our President Bush has been privatizing the military. We also need to privatize socialism here at home such as police and fire services, Blackwater security for gated communities and not much for the outsiders.

Military != Private Enterprise

The military serves a specific government function outlined in our Constitution.

You VOLUNTEER for the military. It is not forced upon you at birth for the rest of your life.

Most can not wait to get out But after your out you look back with fawn memories You know what i mean when you get out of high school