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Why would those who oppose war embrace the agents of war? You cannot separate soldiers from the wars that they volunteer to participate in.
by lawnchair_larry 12y ago
Why would those who oppose war embrace the agents of war? You cannot separate soldiers from the wars that they volunteer to participate in.
- mikeash 12y agoFor one thing, because many did not volunteer to participate in war. I'm sure you've heard stories about people coming home from Vietnam and being spit on. A lot of those people were drafted. In more recent history, most of the people sent to invade Afghanistan and Iraq joined a peacetime Army with no foreseeable major conflicts. Feel free to criticize the soldiers themselves, of course. I just don't see the point, and I don't think you'll get very far. Even if you vilify utterly in the public mind, you'll accomplish nothing. The people who decide where to send those soldiers are the ones who count.
- tsotha 12y agoVietnam was the last US war fought with draftees. That was a long time ago.
- sobkas 12y agoWhen someones only way to have a better or normal life is to get into military it's hard for me to judge them as harsh.
- tsotha 12y agoThat's not the normal case. The people the military actually accepts are smarter than average and come from a family that's wealthier than average. These are guys (mostly) who are in to pick up marketable skills or they're there because that's what they want to do. If your prospects are that dim it's likely they won't take you.
- icebraining 12y agoTo corroborate: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the-demographics-of-enlisted-troops-and-officers http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-...
- mikeash 12y agoI did address more modern times too....
- Peaker 12y ago> I'm sure you've heard stories about people coming home from Vietnam and being spit on. That is, by the way, a myth.
- mikeash 12y agoSearching around, it appears to be in dispute, but not conclusive.