I’m sitting here listening to Forrest Sawyer on MSNBC and a “town meeting” of teens from across the country.
They’re obviously confused and scared. They, like me, have never seen anything like the events of September 11th.
But I remember my grandfathers (who were both in the military during WWII–one saw combat, one did not) telling me about how after the attack on Pearl Harbor, so many young men rushed to join the military, in defense of their country.
I’m not hearing that on this show. These kids do NOT want to go. Some have said that they would, but it’s kind of like “well, if I have to go, to defend my country, I will.” Sort of like “well, if I have to do my homework, I guess I will.”
I understand not wanting to go. Who wants to go? Don’t misunderstand–they’re not unwilling to help. They want to do something, they just don’t seem to want to fight. They’re raising money, attending vigils, and doing their best to promote tolerance here. They just don’t want to get into uniform and fight.
I’m proud that they’re doing something, but a bit dismayed at their lack of willingness to really go all the way, if they’re needed.
But I’m not running out and enlisting. However, if there was a draft, and if I was called up, I would go. I would go, and give everything I had to defend my country against these people who did this. I would not be unwilling.
However, I think I’m in the minority. I know very few people my age who feel the same way. Our government teacher was explaining the draft, and there were numerous noises of disgust, with one kid stating that he was going to “move to Canada.”
I’m scared to death of having a big war, and a draft, and all that (though many people have told me there won’t be a draft. Let’s assume there will be for the duration of this post. Thank you for your cooperation). However, I’m not scared of going to fight, or of dying, or anything like that. I’m scared for the country. If the attitude I encoundered in my school and in that government classroom is the dominant attitude of teenagers in this country, then I am worried for the future of this country.
I’m almost ashamed to say that I’m one of those teens who does not want to fight. In addition to my strong distaste for war in general, I do not think that I would be able to fight (due to physical and emotionally incapable)
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[li] I’m pretty weak physically, and would probaly die in basic training[/li][li] Though I’m not particularly afraid to die, I’m prone to avoiding activities that might cause me to do so in an untimely fashion.[/li][li] I would have an immense problem killing other people. I have enough problems squishing bugs, extinguishing another human’s life would be beyond me.[/li][/ul]
I just hope that there will not be a large enough demand for soldiers that the draft will be re-instituted, and that this whole period of unrest will be settled peacefully.
Don’t be ashamed to say you don’t want to fight, Davidbw1. No one really does, and no one really wants you have to.
I have a son. And lately I’ve been thanking the Goddess that he’s only two years old. One, because I don’t have to explain this to him now, and two, because as protracted as this thing is going to be, I seriously doubt there will actually be a draft in place by the time he’s old enough.
I guess what I’m looking for here is what the difference is in the way of thinking about defense of the nation between teens today and teens in my grandfathers’ day.
I suppose I’m looking for parents’ attitudes as well. As I said, I’m grateful my own son (probably) won’t have to go. I’d be terrified.
A very close friend of mine has a son in the Air Force. When I last spoke to him–just last Friday–he didn’t know if his son was going over or not. But he knew that his son had been told to pack his bags, just in case. My friend is a Vietnam veteran. He’s proud that his son chose the military, but he’s also very, very scared that now he may lose him.
This is just SO different. Nothing is absolutely black or white. There’s so much gray area. Is that what’s going through the young people’s heads this time? Fear because you–like most of the rest of us–just aren’t sure what the hell is going on here?
I am not ashamed to admit that I am completely afraid to die. God doesn’t give do-overs, this life is all I have.
If there was a draft, I don’t know if I’d go to war or not. It would depend on the circumstances, since we’re talking about a hypothetical war big enough to require a draft. I like to think I would refuse to kill innocent people.
If I was unwilling to go I would serve my time in prison, however, and not run to Canada or something.
I wouldn’t mind fighting, but i don’t see the need for a draft. I don’t think people should be worried about it. I’m probably going to join the military anyways, just for college money and stuff.
Right now, i think we are just waiting to see what happens. Hopefully full-scale fighting can be avoiding, but there will probably be some backlash.
I think that kids know a little more these days about what may be involved in a war. From what I gathered from my grandfathers’ experiences, many people of the WWII generation were pretty naive going into the whole thing.
Part of what kids know about war comes from their parents. I know that most of what I heard growing up about war and the military and the draft from my parents and other baby boomers was not very positive at all. I know that the parents of most teenagers are a bit younger than my parents are, but they probably grew up watching footage from Vietnam on television and watching their older brothers decide what they were going to do if they were drafted. I definitely think that you still see the shadow of Vietnam over kids’ attitudes about the military and the draft today.
I think that joining the military, especially now, is a bit like joining the priesthood (so I’ve heard)–it takes some familial support. If parents are against or ambivilant about their kids joining the military at this time (can’t say that I blame them, either), then kids probably will be more likely to decide to help out in other ways and wait and see if there is a draft or not rather than rush right out and join. At least if there’s a draft, there’s additional “support” from Uncle Sam in the decision. If parents are supportive, then kids may decide that the military is the best way that they can help their country. I think that kids who join up for this war will quite likely be making better informed decisions than their grandparents were.
If there were a draft (and I turned 20 this calendar year, so if they decide for one within the next 4 months, I’m A1, even though I’m a college student), I would not fight, even if called. Simple as that.
I know that that is enough for some of our more jingoistic posters to start a pit thread about me, but I know my limits. War is well beyond my limits. If fired upon, I would immediately surrender, and probably sell any secrets I might have, just to not die. I’m a wuss, and would be a serious liability to my unit. If an organized invasion were mounted against the shores of the US, I would run like a scared dog towards the middle of the country, perhaps shooting over my shoulder as I ran. If they got to Kansas, I’d run for Canada. In short, my life is much more important to me than my country. If that makes me a bad person, or a bad American, so be it. But it’s a fact.
Jr. Ranger I, who is almost 15, has stated she would go enlist if she was old enough because, “Dammit, those bastards [yes, I let her talk like that at home] trashed my backyard and scared everybody.”
I’ve talked to her and her friends (ages 14-17) over the last two weeks and it’s a general consensus. Three Oklahoma Air National Guard and AF units here were called up today and we know nine of the guys flying out. One of them is closer to us than the others and she’s worried about him, yes, but she is fully convinced that Capt. Wardlaw is going to kick some ass and she’s proud to know him.
They’re also amazed at the incredible stupidity and ignorance of people that blame all Islamics for the actions of the terrorists/Taliban. I heard her railing at someone on the phone today who had, apparently, lumped them all together. I was so proud.
On the other hand, my daughter and her peers don’t personally feel immediately threatened because of where we live. It’s a long way from Manhattan and DC to Stillwater, OK. But I think it will start becoming a little closer to home to her when it sinks in just where Capt. W and the others are going and once the conflict escalates.
I just turned 20 this year also but I would fight if needed and drafted. I’m also a college student. I’d probably drop college and sign up rather than get drafted. I’m physically able (for the most part except an iffy knee) but mentally I probably couldn’t kill. Either way I’d learn to do it because they would take me out if they had the chance.
I’ll add a voice of dissent: if there is a draft, I’ll be one of those people rallying against it. I won’t be drafted, but…I’m 24 years old, so nearly every male I’m close to could be. Because I can’t stand the thought of my brother and my best friend being taken away from me, I don’t support the idea of a full-scale war(I’m all for punishing those responsible, but not attacking another country.) Any other attitude would make me a hypocrite.
I was raised (by people who grew to maturity during Vietnam) to believe that drafts are evil because people designate the unwilling to fight their battles for them. The people most in favor of Vietnam never left the safety of their offices. I don’t want to see this pattern repeated. I think the kids in the OP are the sane ones, and I’d worry more about the ones all fired up to fight.
My brother will be eighteen in six months and is yet another teenager worried about the draft. So am I, for that matter, there is no WAY my baby brother is old enough for this. But soon enough, he will be. Eek.
I haven’t gotten the chance to ask him what he’d do, but personally I’d advise him to either refuse and take the jail time, or else voluntarily join before getting drafted. Under these particular circumstances, where we actually have a REASON to be fighting, I’d be more inclined to join than if this were another Vietnam. But I’m female and would be medically exempt anyway. I haven’t been able to figure out my brother in seventeen years, but I don’t think he’d do anything underhanded like try to run to Canada.
What a mess. These bastards have scared my brother. Under the right circumstances, they’d kill him happily. They obviously do not realize that while we may have fought like cats and dogs, anybody who goes after him gets their asses kicked, repeatedly, by me. Nobody but ME messes with him, got it?
This, I think, has a lot to do with it. In our grandfather’s day, men went off to war over there and when they came home many of them didn’t talk much about what they’d done/seen. There was a romanticized ideal of the “war hero” going off to (possibly) die for his country. I’ve recently seen a trailer for a movie in which a soldier who has the job of writing to the families of men who have died asks “What am I going to tell them?” and his superior says “You’ll tell them they died heros, just like you always do.” Families were protected, to a certain extent, from the harsher realities.
Then, with Vietnam, the whole ugly mess was broadcast into our livingrooms. And people came back and told the truth. We now have a much more realistic idea of what war is all about. I don’t think it is a case of today’s youth being less willing to serve their country. I think it is a case of today’s youth being much more aware of exactly what that means.
Despite being a month short of twenty, I don’t think I’d qualify the first time around - I was medically disqualified from an NROTC scholarship not too long ago, after all - but if my country needs me, I’'m here.
I think part of the problem is that, this time around, there’s no clear solution to this problem. Back in WWII, it was pretty clear what had to be done to stop the Axis. But I don’t know what should be done about this, and I don’t think that many other people are all that confident about it either. I’m just going to assume that the government types that are professionals with this kind of thing have a better idea what to do than I do; if they decide that we need a draft, I’ll support that. Is that naivete on my part? Probably. But I really don’t know what else to do.
If I were a teen, I’d be thinking “Aw, suck. The world’s probably going to end in the near future. Hey, at least I can use that ‘But honey, we might be dead tomorrow’ line on every woman I see! I’m going out in STYLE!”
I must say that I am one of those who isn’t all that eager about enlisting and going thousands and thousands of miles away from all I’ve every known to die for a cause that I am not too sure I competely believe in. However, if it comes down to it, and they need me to fight, I will. I am not too crazy about pehaps having to kill other people, but I am willing to die for our country and all it stands for, ** if they need me to.** I don’t want to go before my time, even if it almost sounds a little selfish…
Age 19. I will not enlist voluntarily because I want to stay with my friends and finish my college education, but I will go if there is a draft. I would probably join the Army, but I might not be physically capable of qualifying, and I doubt that I’d ever be put on the front lines. I do have two friends from my high school class who are in the Air Force right now, and it scares the hell out of me to think that they could be flying missions in enemy territory soon.
I empathize, but you’re going to have to work on your cover stories if there’s a draft. Physical puniness and fear of dying don’t cut no ice with the Army, when there’s a draft. Yer ass is theirs, unless you’ve got a goood reason. And your reasons aren’t good enough.
Now, a good reason is conscientious objector status. If you can refine your moral stance to where you can state that you object to any and all warfare under any circumstance, and you will not participate on moral grounds–you’ve got a case.
I’m fully aware that the government doesn’t think my reason is good enough, and I respect that. If it comes down to it, I’m more than willing to relocate to a nation that would be more receptive to not getting my sorry ass killed.
As you said, however, it will most likely not come to that. At least, I hope it doesn’t.