Quote:
Originally Posted by Pragnosis
Correct me if I am wrong, it seems fairly likely that the majority of people who join the US military are from the poorer parts of the country. In Farenheit 9/11, Michael Moore stated that this is the case, and when it showed the aggressive recruitment tactics used to approach unemployed teenagers, it seemed kind of intimidating and forceful.
You're in the military, so you're obviously going to be completely biased.
There are lots of questions to be asked about this war and 9/11 and I don't believe in blind faith because I'm not that naive. When are you guys going to wake up and realise that, in the western world, life is about money, period.
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Pragnosis,
Your desire to question is worthy. Your statement that money drives western behavior is true, and it's actually a beautiful thing how it can efficiently allocate resources through the "invisible hand." I highly encourage you to undertake some study of economics so that you can learn how people are made better through their own self-desires (and that even seemingly altruistic behavior is selfish as well; however, the payment isn't in dollars or pounds or euros, it's in some other form that holds value to the person performing the seemingly altruistic work). This doesn't mean that there isn't a role for government, as the private market does lead to some failures. All in all, it is a wonderful thing.
However, you really don't seem willing to confront the many arguments before you. For example, Iraq is a losing proposition right now from a purely accounting perspective, and that's if you indulge the fanatasy that the US is stealing every single drop of Iraqi oil. Given the fact that we haven't taken a drop of Iraqi oil that I am aware of (do you have evidence of such???), then the balance sheet is, and forever will be in the red. Thus, on the very face of it, your argument holds no credibility.
As far as the demographics question of the US military, here's a link for you. It's from a conservative think tank, but the data is sourced, making this a transparent document for those that wish to question its results.
Quote:
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Nat...y/cda06-09.cfm
In summary, the additional years of recruit data (2004–2005) sup*port the previous finding that U.S. military recruits are more similar than dissimilar to the American youth population. The slight dif*ferences are that wartime U.S. mil*itary enlistees are better educated, wealthier, and more rural on aver*age than their civilian peers.
Recruits have a higher percent*age of high school graduates and representation from Southern and rural areas. No evidence indicates exploitation of racial minorities (either by race or by race-weighted ZIP code areas). Finally, the distri*bution of household income of recruits is noticeably higher than that of the entire youth population.
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As far as being in the military, one's personal beliefs need not coincide with one's professional obligations. For example, I really don't see a big deal in having gays in the military. If they are disruptive to units, then kick them out just like any other soldier who is disruptive to the unit. However, as a professional, I am required to uphold the regulations and law, which is dictated by the United States Congress (so if one doesn't like "don't ask, don't tell," then talk to those who made it law and can change it). Does it surprise you than a military man would be willing to accept having gays in the military? I could bring up scores of topics where I'm sure your stereotype of the military member would fall flat on its face.
If you are unwilling to accept that you can't just place people into buckets based on a single title, whether it be Republican, Democrat, military, etc., then let me know so I don't waste any more time on your posts. However, if you can demonstrate the flexibility of mind to understand that while people may be grouped into general categories, but that these categories will more often than not fail to capture the essence of an individual, then I will gladly discuss this issue or others with you.