Is the US ripe for a coup?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Anyone interested in this series of events should find a copy of "Japan's Longest Day".

would not work here as we are not an imperial country. you can't chop the head off of one snake and collapse the beast. Japan's post wwii cue was about destroying one person, If trump dies then so must pence and then mad dog maddius and so on and so fourth marching it's way through congress, till we can all agree to simply elect another offical. No one in this country will ever except military rule.

Install a plexiglas navel, you'll see the posts better.

[Jehanne]

would not work here as we are not an imperial country. you can't chop the head off of one snake and collapse the beast. Japan's post wwii cue was about destroying one person, If trump dies then so must pence and then mad dog maddius and so on and so fourth marching it's way through congress, till we can all agree to simply elect another offical. No one in this country will ever except military rule.

Install a plexiglas navel, you'll see the posts better.

I stated "limited martial law" in my OP for a reason.  I cannot imagine complete marital law in the US but I can imagine a General of the Armed Forces refusing to obey The Donald and refusing to be arrested for failing to step down, and his/her men supporting him.

[Anomalocaris]

To be blunt, while the military talks big of moral courage, the structure of the military inevitably tend to promote people of physical courage but moral cowardice.  General and admirals would only act against orders and risk being on the losing side of a struggle if they feel their own career or the interests of their own social class is otherwise under severe threat.

In all other circumstances they are likely to act in a way that best protect their own continued career prospects and the safety of the social class with whom they identify.

Unless an officer aims to seize the supreme power himself, or has been promised extravagant career rewards out of all proportion to his actual capabilities, most offices will chose obey orders from long standing establisment so as to protect his own career.

So I don't think the US military would likely act against Trump's orders unless they perceive the order is likely to result in nuclear retaliation against the US and this put their own social class in personal survival jeopardy, or the order would result in such civil strife as to also put members of their own social class in persobal survival jeopardy.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

So many people who don't know how the US military works...

[Jehanne]

So I don't think the US military would likely act against Trump's orders unless they perceive the order is likely to result in nuclear retaliation against the US and this put their own social class in personal survival jeopardy, or the order would result in such civil strife as to also put members of their own social class in persobal survival jeopardy.

This was the scenario that I had in mind, WW III.

[Anomalocaris]

So many people who don't know how the US military works...

There is how the military is said to work and goes through the motion of working that way,

and then there is how the military is likely to actually behave when those with operational control is really confronted with the choice between carrying out easy and seemingly routine and excusable behavior that even under the circumstances hold no great threat of personal social and career consequences, and behavior that would mostly benefit others outside one’s own social class but which require great moral courage because they carry threat of severe personal social and career consequences.

When faced with such choices, I believe all militaries will prove largely corrupt.  There might be a few exceptions on an individual level, but it becomes a crapshoot whether the right individual is in the right position, or there are enough of them coordinating sufficiently effectively to make any difference.  For most of their peers would be found corrupt when really challenged.

It you count on corruption and moral cowardess when nobility and moral courage is called for, you might very occasionally be pleasantly surprised. But if you count on nobility and moral courage when corruption and moral cowardess is possible and seemingly without much risk, you will usually be severely disappointed.

[Brian37]

Every time I see the word "coup" I want to attach the suffix "on" that way I can get a discount.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

So many people who don't know how the US military works...

There is how the military is said to work and goes through the motion of working that way,

and then there is how the military is likely to actually behave when those with operational control is really confronted with the choice between carrying out easy and seemingly routine and excusable behavior that even under the circumstances hold no great threat of personal social and career consequences, and behavior that would mostly benefit others outside one’s own social class but which require great moral courage because they carry threat of severe personal social and career consequences.

When faced with such choices, I believe all militaries will prove largely corrupt.  There might be a few exceptions on an individual level, but it becomes a crapshoot whether the right individual is in the right position, or there are enough of them coordinating sufficiently effectively to make any difference.  For most of their peers would be found corrupt when really challenged.

It you count on corruption and moral cowardess when nobility and moral courage is called for, you might very occasionally be pleasantly surprised.   But if you count on nobility and moral courage when corruption and moral cowardess is possible and seemingly without much risk, you will usually be severely disappointed.

Your guessing is ungrounded in fact.

[Anomalocaris]

There is how the military is said to work and goes through the motion of working that way,

and then there is how the military is likely to actually behave when those with operational control is really confronted with the choice between carrying out easy and seemingly routine and excusable behavior that even under the circumstances hold no great threat of personal social and career consequences, and behavior that would mostly benefit others outside one’s own social class but which require great moral courage because they carry threat of severe personal social and career consequences.

When faced with such choices, I believe all militaries will prove largely corrupt.  There might be a few exceptions on an individual level, but it becomes a crapshoot whether the right individual is in the right position, or there are enough of them coordinating sufficiently effectively to make any difference.  For most of their peers would be found corrupt when really challenged.

It you count on corruption and moral cowardess when nobility and moral courage is called for, you might very occasionally be pleasantly surprised.   But if you count on nobility and moral courage when corruption and moral cowardess is possible and seemingly without much risk, you will usually be severely disappointed.

Your guessing is ungrounded in fact.

Nor is your confident speculation to the contrary.

[Jehanne]

These threads are, in part, therapeutic for me.  I hope that the Presidential Dumbass does not blow-up the world, my World.