Without a draft or a revitalized Reserve and National Guard that ties the military closer to civilian society, in the decades ahead American troops may become less soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen, and more purple warriors—in essence a guild in which the profession of combat-arms is passed down from father to son. It is striking how many troops I know whose parents and other relatives had also been in the service, especially among the units whose members face the highest level of personal risk. Contrast this with the fact that, at the 2006 Stanford commencement ceremony, Maj. General Lehnert, whose son was the lone graduating student from a military family, was struck by how many of the other parents had never even met a member of the military before he introduced himself.Now, one of the things that's always made me think that America was fairly immune to the kind of military coups that go down in other countries is that it seemed inconceivable that the military here would rebel against it's own people. However, if the above statement is accurate, how much longer before the disconnect between military personel and the general citizenry becomes so great that it becomes, not a case of turning on our own, but rather turning on those who "just dont understand"? David Brin has made the arguement (backed up here and there by articles within the MSN) that the military is becoming more evangelical, which further pushes them into an us-vs-them mentality.
I'm not a big fan of war, and I think "patriotism" is a suckers game that our leaders use to manipulate us. That said, I also think we've got a serious problem in this country with our pride in the nation. Oh, sure, people claim to "proud to be American", but when it comes to sacrificing something, anything, for that nation, well, forget it.
Taxes to pay for the improvement of the nation? Read my lips! Buy American? But the Chinese stuff is cheaper and I cant buy that 42" LCD TV if I spend an extra 25% on U.S.-made socks. Drive a smaller, more fuel efficient car? But how will I haul all my stuff?
Folks, it's time for the return of a National Service requirement. Not necessarily into the military, but some form of service. Maybe it'd be miltary service, maybe it'd be something more like the old WPA, maybe it'd be something like the Peace Corp, either abroad or at home*. Whatever it was though, dragging our youth out of their shells, out of the comfortable little worlds that they've built for themselves in their first 18-24 years (we can be flexible), and making them interact with parts of America that they havent before can only be beneficial to the nation, right?
We dont want to pay taxes? Fine, I can understand that. But how about we pay with some sweat? How about we get off our lazy, entitled asses, and actually do something to make this country great, rather than trying to buy it that way through the Free Market.
If you want something done right, do it yourself. Because you cannot get anything done as well through delegation as you can through personal interest.
* there's a name for this organization, actually, but I cannot remember what it is.
6 comments:
Extreme Patriotism is one of the 14 points of Fascism Dave..so yes, it should bother/scare us.
The Job Corp? Is that what you were thinking of?
It is all about entitlement isn't it? Pathetic.
don't forget..The Shrub also gave himself control of all National Guard units during this term of office. Of course its suppose to only be for an emergency..but hey..he lies pretty damn well doesn't he?
The military is pushing religion now, which should be and might be against the law..but when has that stopped The Shrub and his minions?
job corps, peace corps, whatever. good idea. the israelis send everyone in, 2 years i think, but that is more out of need but winds up being good i think. problem is you are asking people to get off their ass.
Yeah, I know, we're spoiled. I could write a whole post on how spoiled we are. I might, too. It's pathetic, we're like lazy, stupid teenagers, but unfortunately we're lazy, stupid teenagers with guns, and really big opinions of ourselves.
@ Dusty: It's not the Job Corp, that's a job-skills training organization. The bunch I'm thinking of is similar to the Peace Corp in that it takes fresh-faced college grads and, instead of sending them to exotic foreign locations, sends them to do much of the same things but in American inner cities. Not as exciting, but much easier to get a pizza.
You're exactly right about the dichotomy of thought that exists in the shallowly patriotic. My Republic redneck uncle votes Bush, hates Hillary on an uncomfortably personal level and believes in American supremacy, but he'll go to wal-Mart at the drop of a hat and buy a "cheap hammer made in China:" (his very words) rather than paying a little more for a quality US-made product. It's all about the dollar to them; that's why they're republicans in he first place.
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