News Snipet 'Blog

More ideas:

1. Vote against politicians who slash veterans' benefits even while sending them to war.

2. Suppoert sites like Veterans Against the War or Vietnam Veterans Against the War or Iraw Veterans Against the War.

3. Ask yourself - what is the purpose of our military? National defense? Or Global conquest?

 

Shea, I answered this in part in the previous post. Since our service is a voluntary one, they are not there for any other reason than choice. To say otherwise is to insult both their intelligence and integrity.

Supporting political organizations is not particularly supporting the troops--it does nothing for them. As I said in the previous post, the purpose of a soldier is to carry out the will of those who command them. This has nothing to do with political ideology.

Thats the reason people need to start being honest with themselves.

-Jack

 

Eek, I need to clarify--those are questions I asked my students, not necessarily methods I advocate. Soldiers Angels, yes. Wristbands and yellow ribbons, no. My point was to get my students to realize how vacuous it is to simply assert "I support the troops" if all that means to them is that they bought a wristband at the local dollar store.

I also find it interesting, although it's politically incorrect to bring it up, how many of them are wholly behind the war effort . . . as long as somebody else is fighting it. The irony escapes them that they chose to attend an expensive university instead of joining the military action that they ostensibly support. I don't want to be hard on them (and I'm not), but I do want to gently move them beyond simply repeating slogans, or acting as if everyone has had the same opportunities and choices that they have.

 

Jack, you say service is voluntary. Well, joining may be voluntary, but leaving is not. You might join to defend your country, but if you are deployed to a campaign that you are opposed to, you have to participate. Otherwise, it's off to prison for you!

 

Shea, I didn't think that they had done that since World War II. Aren't those who leave the service just dishonorably discharged?

EP, I thought they were good ideas! You did with your class exactly what we should be doing with anyone who utters empty slogans. We live in a nation that is high on emotion but shallow in thought. I am thankful we have a FEW left in academia who may actually be making a difference!

-Jack

 

Jack, it happened to someone in my own family! He went into the Air Force and was promised that they would train him to do a certain type of aircraft maintenance. Later, they reneged and told him they were not going to fulfill that promise. He said they signed a contract, and if they were not going to fulfill it then he wanted to leave. Their response? "Tough shit. If you don't like it you can spend he next four years in Leavenworth!" He had to get a reservist officer of our acquaintance to wrangle a hardship discharge for him (by lying). That's the military. You can't just walk away - you are committed, and if you want to leave you have to jump through hoops, to say the least. And then there is the "backdoor draft", calling up reservists, and also reservists who were told they would only have to serve a certain amount of time and then are told they can't leave. AWOL and desertion still exist, too. It's not just a club where everybody dresses the same.

 

Shea's story about an explicit breach of contract is disturbing. However, a lot of people join the Army to get the benefits and then renege when the going gets tough. In that regard, I'll just say what Thomas Paine said:

"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorius the triumph."

Soldiers that are lied to during recruiting have one gripe. Soldiers who join for a job and training, and then leave when the going gets tough by pretending they never thought an Army would really fight, are another issue altogether.

 

See both of your points, BW and Shea. I think that this could be avoided if there was a little more honesty in recruiting. I have always thought that if I was a recruiter for the armed services I would tell those interested "the purpose of the military is to break things and kill people" (forgot the name of the soldier that said this).

-Jack

 

I agree that everyone who joins the service should do so with the knowledge that they can be called to fight at any time. If they don't accept that, they definitely shouldn't be joining up! I believe this relative of mine would have fought if called to do so.

By the way, a joke from a stand-up comic: "My generation's war was Grenada... lasted the entire weekend!"

 

Oh for the days of Granada and Operation DS I.

:)

-Jack

 

Wanna know what I just found?

www.dateahero.com

I hear there are soldiers in need of penpals...or a honey to come home to.

I haven't looked that deeply into it, but if I can matchmake a lady to a military man, I will (I was raised by one and I turned out fairly decent).

It also has firemen and policemen so hey, support people who risk their lives.

 

You're very decent, O!

-Jack