"we've now lost four thousand good Americans"
Pfft! What the fuck are you talking about, Ron? Have you actually met any of our fine men and women in uniform? Of those I've met, I've found them, uniformly, to be total ignorant assholes. I'm not saying they all are, but c'mon, these are people who VOLUNTEERED to KILL STRANGERS for MONEY! I don't give a fuck what they say they're supporting or defending; any person of normal intelligence should be able to figure out that this war, at least, is total bullshit. Their only excuse is the raging ignorance of youth, and it's a lame excuse, in my opinion.
Why do you hold McCain accountable, but not the people who are voluntarily doing the work for him? Does virulent stupidity and naive idealism bordering on religious frenzy excuse them from responsibility for their actions? Fine, if you want to go with that, but it's a far cry from being "good Americans."
I don't like anybody dying or killing, and I think the treatment of veterans by our government is criminal (for example, one in eight homeless people in this country are vets); I just wanted to challenge your maudlin patriotic sentiment. Huh. you probably just think people in uniform are hot.
Good points, but I think it's much more complicated than that.
First off, the vast majority of recruits come from blue collar and lower class economic situations; military recruiters take great advantage of this, offering college money, careers, and a way out of desperate hopeless home situations--there's a good reason why minorities are disproportionately represented in the armed forces. Most of these kids aren't in the military to "kill strangers for money;" rather, they're trying to better their own and their families' lives, trying to live out the so-called American Dream in the only way that seems available.
Second, you're discounting the twelve or thirteen years of right-wing and militaristic patriotic propaganda all these kids endure while coming up through the public school system, a propaganda that virtually never recognizes the countless foreign policy missteps the US has taken throughout its history. The way it's taught in schools, the US is always the good guy, always fighting for peace and democracy. Movies and television shows reinforce this false truth. High school ROTC programs further the indoctrination. Really, most of these kids have no idea what they're doing when they sign up. They really do believe they're doing a good thing.
Further, in spite of everything. I continue to believe that we need some kind of armed forces. Not that I think what we usually use them for, securing American investments overseas, is a legitimate use, but rather, I just can't sign onto ideological pacifism. There really are some threats out there that must be opposed by armed force. Not that we've been actually threatened for the last couple of decades, just that such threats actually exist from time to time. The military is a necessary evil, which should be used wisely and sparingly.
Finally, the ignorance comes from, again, the public school system, which is itself a system of imposed ignorance, coupled with the stark black and white ideology imposed during military basic training. I'm not comfortable with it either, but the argument that we can't have soldiers philosophizing under fire continues to be persuasive. On the other hand, writers like Chomsky and others have asserted that conscription, a.k.a. a draft, is the best way to counter such rank and file groupthink in the military--back in Vietnam, we had mass defiance of illegal orders, by and large due to the fact that we had a citizen based, rather than "professional" military; "professionals" value their career while citizens value their country, culture, and morality.
Don't get me wrong. I am sympathetic to your point of view: a couple of conversations I've had with some Iraq vets have made me cringe. On the other hand, we've also got some Iraq vets leading the anti-war movement.
Well, of course it's more complicated than that. All I'm sayin is, just because they're gullible, and just because the government has intentionally lied and deceived them, and just because the education system in this country is FUCKED, doesn't necessarily make them "good."
That Chomsky thing about the draft is intriguing. Huh.
I said "fucked."
Ok, good topic here: mandatory national service. Become a soldier, teacher, nurse, peace corp volunteer for 1 year. First year is required for every damn person at some point between 18 and 25. You can add up to 4 years beyond that with money earned for education. Sort of like Heinlein's citizens - you have to earn the right to vote.
I think this is a great idea, for more reasons than I have time to list. I think a mandatory 2-year service would be good, right after high school. This would also lower prison populations.
While my you're-not-the-boss-of-me spirit is horrified by he idea of compulsory anything, I might not have that pointless and destructive attitude if someone had presented me with structured and useful activities in early adulthood.
It's unfortunate that we seem to have become polarized, at least somewhat, in a selfish, entitled sense of independence, or mindless patriotic servitude, and have forgotten about responsible service and shared obligation.
I've already taught for six years. I've done my time. So...I get to vote, and you don't. Just like Heinlein.
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