u/Classic_Advantage_97

While I was initially planning to create a somewhat long post, I'll make this quick and to the point. This question mostly applies to those voluntarily signed up to be a part of an imperialist military. Draftees and conscripts are a different scenario.

To put it simply, what should a socialist's position be regarding imperialist soldiers? Should we view them as "Workers in uniforms," as some suggest, or should we view them as imperialist goons?

Now, as a non-American, one thing that always dumbfounds me about Americans more broadly is how they basically worship US service members like they're saints and how criticizing US soldiers in any way is basically blasphemy. When, if anything, US soldiers should be relentlessly criticized, for they are directly complicit in imperialism.

But let me know what our position should be. But what I will say is that my sympathies lie with the victims of imperialism, not the perpetrators.

I recently watched some documentaries on Castro, Che and Cuba itself, historically and currently. *So take my knowledge with a grain of salt, I may be misunderstanding.*

What I noticed is that the party in Cuba, the DotP, was short lived and later devolved some its power by organizing multiple levels of elections and incorporation of very local governments, unions, feminist groups and so on, in the nations congress.

The party didn’t give up power, but it enabled greater levels of worker democracy across the country and tried to prevent the brutal totalitarianism of Bautista and his thugs from ever being possible again.

As far as the USSR and China, does Cuba differ in terms of how they implemented communism (outside the market socialism of the latter 20th century)? This is not meant to be a critique on the two superpowers, but I want learn what Cuba did well and what its history and organization can teach us about the future.

I’m an E4 in the US Army Guard, with a 16 months left of my contract. Every year I’ve been in the Army has been a massive decline in my mental health. I came to my unit a very motivated and focused PV2 and was hazed (which got to the point of command intervention due to a kind ACE person). I lost my confidence, self-esteem and began having SI in the last 1.5 years. I am nearly always an anxious wreck, irritable or completely dissociated in my civilian life. I started failing PT and height/weight but I keep trying to be a good soldier, even though I lost the college benefits I need. I also became a leftist in this time, which has made me feel immensely isolated from other soldiers as well as civilian leftists who don’t trust me, even though I am begging to become organized.

I feel very hopeless and depressed. I’m doing poorly in classes and unable to focus, even though I’ve tried everything but psychiatry. I feel like a coward and shitbag, and letting down my friends and leadership. I’m trying but it’s hard to become motivated for anything, with the way the world is and my mental health with the Army.

I hope this isn’t too mopey. I’m looking for advice or maybe solidarity, if you’ve gone through the same things. I am especially stuck online as I’m not sure it’s legally safe for me to join a leftist organization, thus feel like I’m not doing anything to confront what’s happening to our country or making friends.