BodiSatva said:
At 26, people are beginning to reallythink and there is no way in hell I would join the military after working my *** off in school to gain an education only to go off and potentially die in combat. Plus, at that age, you are way to individualized to go off and start taking stupid orders...invading countries for little reason, etc.
All should go into the military FIRST...many that might not go to college, like inner city youth, would gain a more even playing field by this as well, they would learn discipline and a trade and come out with real life experience, something most kids that go straight to college never get. As a employer, those are the things that I look for in employees. Not always of course...just adding to the discussion put forth.
I respect and understand your position. However, IF some kind of national service was set into law, then those men 18-26 will have a choice. Life is full of choices we sometimes do not want to make. I don't like paying property taxes that put illegal immigrants through bilingual education programs at our schools----I can choose not to pay, or, I can choose to pay twice a year, or I can have them put in an escrow account by adding a little to my monthly payments. Each one a choice.
I grew up watching the Vietnam War on TV. My brother, cousins, and brother-in-law all went to Vietnam----I thought you grew up, graduated high school, and it was mandatory that you went into the military and then to Vietnam. Mostly because that is what our family does (
Join the military), and the only choice you had was what service you were going to enter. I was too young to know about deferments and Senator's Sons. "
It's a Rich man's war and a Poor Man's fight" is not something that is new in America----it has been repeated at least once during most every war we have been engaged in in our history. Personally, I want that issue to go away forever.
I believe this is where the issue turns full circle back into "
Supporting the Troops". For instance, if the Kennedy Family, or the Bush Family had children serving in the line of fire, I wonder if their attitudes and decisions regarding the stewardship of our nation as it relates to war would be exactly as they are today. I bring up the elite of both sides of the fence politically, because contrary to popular belief, they are all dirty in Washington, because when you lie with pigs, you get dirty. It is
first about Power and control, and the good of the Nation sits way out of reach on the back burner.
For some reason, the America I live in at present appears to only have a problem with certain issues
if it effects people on a personal level. I joined the military at the end of the Vietnam era. Like it or not, it took around 20-years for that stigma against military service to be washed away. My graduating class in high school had a grand total of two of us enlisting in the military. There was a time when the short haircut and uniforms were not something one wanted to show off. The only time we are gonna get true and honest debate about the problems we face as a nation is when WE ALL
Actually start sharing the burden----including rich people. If a person waits until they are 26, then they better understand that it was their choice, and hopefully they earned some educational props so they do not have to go in as a buck private.
I understand people's concern about politics playing a role in what the Senator's Son may get as a job when they serve----however, there was a time when it was noble to serve in the military, rich people, pro-athletes, and celebrities actually volunteered as a rule, and not an exception. If a cause is just-----if the civilian leaders are brutally honest with the citizenry, then the American people will NEVER WAIVER. If the American people (
at least a good portion anyway) feel like they are getting smoke blown into an orifice of their bodies which could cause great discomfort-----well, now that's a different story.
I'm serious, you want to see a demand for some immediate changes that would make all of Washington D.C. squirm more than they are right now? Institute Mandatory Service. I would be willing to bet we would never hear the claim,
"They never report the Good News!" again. When Biff and Temperance have to worry about Winston and Buffy serving in a dangerous land, representatives listen. That's because Biff and Temperance own GE---or at least a good portion of it.