What are young people entering the military for-love of country or a hand up in life?

The biggest belief in the United States by some people is that young people, especially some young females, African-American youth, etc. are entering the United States Armed Forces not for love of country or devotion, but just to get by in life. Is this true, or is this fiction? I have heard this all my life.

Who? And why should we care?

What do YOU think? What does your actual research on the subject (as opposed to listening to “some people”) tell you?

Seriously, before you ask us to debate this, can you present some sort of argument? I don’t accept your premise. And even if it’s true, why is that a bad thing? It’s a job, after all.

Not me, my friend. You see, I hear what people say on the streets, in diners, supermarkets, etc. A lot of people are not happy, John. We need to realize this.

I joined the Navy because I wanted to serve, and because I thought it would be good for me. Most people join the military for multiple reasons. Things like the GI Bill make it more attractive because it becomes a potentially good career and education move as well as patriotic.

In my experience dealing with other officers and sailors, it didn’t matter why someone joined. What mattered was what they did after joining. I knew guys who mostly joined because they were promised a bonus upon signing up, and turned out to be great sailors. And I knew guys who mostly joined because they wanted to fight for America, and ultimately just weren’t cut out for the Navy.

So what you’ve heard is mostly fiction, and moreover, it just doesn’t matter. The motivations of 18 year olds don’t tell you much about who they will become once they’ve acquired some experience.

You made the claim that this is “The biggest belief in the United States by some people”. Prove it.

These people, your friends or whoever, whose opinions you keep referring to, sound like old, disgruntled bigots based on how you describe them.

And I kept hearing this all my life, “You sonnavabitch, you’ll never get rich, you’re in the Army now!”

So this is another thread about “your friends”, then.

Your friends who are about to snap and must be respected, and you’re *certainly * not agreeing with them, you just feel compelled to post thread after thread about what they believe.

Perhaps you might try reading the last thread you made this claim in, in case you forgot what we told your friends at that time.

Not my friends, I hear this from co-workers. You don’t understand the rage that is boiling in this country. I hear these things every day. It does not come from me. I am a realist.

Why? What happens if we don’t?

For the record, I’d like to think I joined for patriotic reasons; my father and grandfather joined when drafted, so I’m not sure how you’d evaluate their reasoning.

  1. I’ve never heard of this belief, but it sounds suspiciously close to “White men are the only true Americans.”

  2. Even if it’s true, why should anyone care? Bullets and bombs don’t discriminate based on the motivations of the people fighting. A person who is indifferent to his country could still love the thrill of the battle and thus still be a very effective warrior. I’d rather we fill the barracks with folks like that than with people who love this country, but who’d rather be doing something else.

  3. Young females and black youth have been serving in the military for generations. Why would their motivations for serving be any different than white guys?

  4. We have a long tradition of using the military to whip wayward youth into shape. This was especially true when the Army wasn’t quite as selective as it is today. So if people are really suspicious about the true intentions of servicemen, they should be looking at the older dudes. Not the younger ones. And especially not the women, who have never had better non-military career and educational opportunities than they enjoy now.

It sounds like you hear from the type of old bigots who have opposed progress every generation. These old bigots will always be around, and they will always be opposing the latest form of social progress, tolerance, and acceptance, but thankfully, they are becoming less and less relevant.

Well, we trust that you can use the power of persuasion to show them how they are wrong. Since you don’t agree with them, that is. Right?

More a search for opinions, really.

Let’s move it to IMHO.

One of them had a affair with a black woman in 1988. So I don’t know if he is a racist.

So did Strom Thurmond, and we all know how totally not-a-racist he was.

Yeah, we know. You already told us that in your other thread about your “friends”. Got anything new this time around?

Yeah, I do. The military statement did not come from my friends. I comes from my co-workers. I hear this every day at work. A lot of Americans are peeved.

Have you considered finding a new job? That’s what I’d do if my coworkers were spouting racist nonsense every day.

Reading threads started by you seems to peeve people off. I’m not surprised people you talked to are also peeved.