From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Wed Sep 04 2002 - 03:22:01 MDT
Brian D Williams wrote:
>>From: Alfio Puglisi <puglisi@arcetri.astro.it>
>
>
>>I don't see any cause and effect between a) and b). There's
>>nothing special about military service, in the sense that there's
>>nothing special about other hard works. If you choose that career,
>>great. Why are you asking for some special consideration, beyond
>>a mild gratitude for doing something not pleasant that someone or
>>someother have to do. Military actions can do a lot of good, or a
>>lot of bad, for a country. If you see it strictly in a "let's
>>defend us from the evil outside", no problem. But the way most
>>countries (US, Europe, etc) interpret the word "defend" can suck,
>>at time. I see no "special" value in taking part in this. No need
>>to be idiots, either. Just ordinary folks like most people.
>
>
> If being in the military is just a job, it is the worst job in the
> universe, and a job only a fool or very very desperate man would
> take.
>
I don't see where the above said it was "just a job". But there
are career military for whom defense of this country is indeed
their job. That does not mean that it is not a very honorable
job. But there are many jobs/careers/dedications of one's life
that are also honorable. Military is not more honorable. There
are also many jobs/careers where one's life is at risk.
> I was completely unaware of how prevalent this attitude is.
>
> In the new issue of GQ in a food article of all things, Hugh
> Kretschmer states "I realize that the youth of today view time in
> the military and time in a penitentiary as essentially the same
> experience".
>
If you are drafted for a war that you do not believe in and
would not see any value in volunteering to fight, then that is
indeed as bad as time in a penitenitiary. Except the war is
likely to be less survivable. Both deprived you of free
self-determination of your own life.
> If this sort of thing is true my time spent in the military was
> nothing more than an extremely destructive waste of four valuable
> years of my life.
>
Your time in the military was whatever it was for you. If it is
where you wanted to be and you believed strongly in what you
were doing then it was a time of self-actualization, growth and
increasing earned pride. It would have been different if you
had no choice whatsoever and/or did not believe in what you were
doing. How can someone else's reality contradict your own so
easily? I don't see it. I also don't see why you need to
emotionalize this as if there is only one "right way" to see the
entire matter.
- samantha
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