Tragedy Strengthens the State

This week an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed at Texas A&M University, killing one person. Much speculation has arose on why the chopper crashed. Upon closer examination, one fact is certain- the state will only be strengthened, not weakened by such an event.

When realizing the fact that the military produces nothing but death and destruction, this should be considered a successful flight. Mission accomplished! One death and a destroyed piece of equipment amounts to an institution well-focused on what it does best!

All sarcasm aside, the tangible benefits to the state after such a tragedy are:

• Those employed as crash investigators will have plenty of work to keep them busy while they calculate just what caused the accident.


• The destroyed helicopter will have to be replaced, resulting in more job security and revenue for the ever-busy military industrial complex.


• The personnel lost will have to be replaced, creating a new assignment for aggressive military recruiters.


• The new personnel will have to be trained, clothed, fed, etc, resulting in a multitude of support opportunities.


• The treatment of the injured and the care of the deceased’s family will necessitate more work for the military medical and compensation establishment.

Add to these tangible benefits the intangible gains:

• Militarists everywhere now have another dead hero to fawn over. Only the military honors those who have failed.


• The media will expound on the “service” of the deceased, contributing to the statist conditioning of the populace that the military is comprised of brave, courageous folk who are our only barrier between being free and living under tyranny.


• The military uses this event to expound on the dangers involved in “protecting” the populace from ever-increasing (and state created) threats.

Bastiat said, "Society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed." Yes, society suffers but the state is strengthened, at further cost to society. Society is forced to pay for the state’s mistakes- in this case, the military’s. The state is not only tangibly compensated but intangibly strengthened.