This strikes me more of a limitation of the Israeli willingness to perform mass extermination than of their capacity to do so.
I think that the reasons for enlisting vary from person to person, a great deal.
Some are very laudable, even now. The military remains one of the most dependable ways for people to launder their backgrounds to gain or regain a certain level of respectability. The military will educate willing people who lack many basic job skills.
It is also a form of national service. In the abstract this remains a reason I think of as being valid for wanting to join the military, even now. Whether the military is being used properly, or not, doesn’t change the service aspect of military service for the individual. It’s not the only one by any means. I can understand the posters who have expressed their disgust for people who joined after the invasion, knowing what situations they might be facing. I am not agreeing with it, but it’s a position I can understand.
There are reasons that I would consider unreasonable, and even vile, but I’m not going to assume that a military member has those reasons at heart, prima facie. I’ve met some like that, even while I was in, and I know they exist but they were a distinct minority.
So, in general, I am inclined to respect military service. Unless, and until, someone gives me a reason to stop respecting that individual.
bannerrefugee, I know you. But I didn’t know you were a member. I look forward to your further contributions.
Now that I’ve had my fun, genius, you might want to think about one of the reasons countries are even formed. This paragraph is a preamble to the U.S. Constitution: (bolding mine)
Think about it.
I guess all those taxs I am paying are for flowers.
Sadly, this is no longer so. The days when a kid was offered two years in jail or two years in the Army are gone.
arvuqan touched on this as well, in post #59, but it just isn’t that way anymore. The military wants people who already have their diploma, are already well behaved, are already willing to take commands.
Those comments should not signify that I disagree with your basic premise: the military can be a path to a decent life. I disagree that even the military views it in that way any more.
The SJA also have the job of defending those Servicemembers who are accused of crimes. And the military reporters have the job of reporting both the good and the bad news.
Are you in the military?
If so you might have to start-right now.
Point taken, and I don’t want to get off on a tangent here, but the point of my OP was that not everyone who enlists in the military does so just to kill someone. There are many different types of people who do many different types of jobs. I would guess that most of the people who join do not do so in order to kill. There are many jobs in which killing people is not very likely (such as mine).
OTOH, I also believe that the self defense skills taught to most Service Members during the initial period of training will give these enlistees a good chance to stay alive.
SGT Schwartz
My point was there is a difference between those who joined the military and got suckered into this idiotic war and those who are joining now knowing full well all the information thats out there. A year is kind of arbitrary i admit, but we are way past the point were any rational person should know better than to think the Iraq war is a good idea and i would seriously question the mentality of anyone volunteering to fight in it.
My brother-in-law is in the Air Force, and even though we have tremendous political differences, I find him to be one of the nicest people in the world. I’d trust him with my life.
My uncle was in the Air Force as well, and he’s a giant scumbag.
I’d say military enlistees are just people like the rest of us. The good ones can be great and the bad ones can be terrible.
I was thinking more of laundering social origins, rather than the traditional “Two years in the Marines or in Jail” choice. I realize you’re agreeing with my basic premise, I just wanted to make it more clear what I’d originally been thinking about.
And not all HS diplomas are created equal. The impression I’d had during my service (granted fifteen years ago) was that HS diplomas or GEDs were required (with waivers available, if the recruiter really pushed.) but there was a lot of remedial education going on in boot camps. And service schools even more so.
I don’t think all who enter today’s US fighting force do so because they support the war. There are still those who appreciate the opportunities provided by the military, understand the sacrifices that may be made, and will still take the Oath of Enlistment.
I am holding the duty positions of what previously three people would have held because we are doing more with less. Trying to advocate that people who object to the war should stay out of the Service will only make it harder for many of us to take care of our garrison missions. Yes, I have deployed. Yes, I felt good about the experience (politics be damned as to if the war is right or wrong). I am ready to deploy to where ever I am needed.
I also know that there are some people in the military who do not belong in a Combat Zone. These men and women can still prove valuable stateside, and I will thank you not to discourage their service.
Sgt Schwartz
So What?
I am waiting
I posted a thread on this not so long ago. A Concientious Objector who received the Medal of Honor recently died. So, yes, not all enlistees must fight.
And for what might you be waiting, friend?
From the “Rules”:
all bolding mine
From the BBQ Pit Rules sticky as posted by Giraffe:
So “any individual or group” is protected from a poster implying they should be done harm.
But only “another poster” is protected from one wishing death on them.
So which of the following would be violations?
1- I wish a piano would fall on HYPOTHETICAL DOPER, rendering him paralyzed, because that is what he deserves IMO.
2- I wish a piano would fall on HYPOTHETICAL DOPER, killing him, because that is what he deserves IMO.
3- I wish a piano would fall on HYPOTHETICAL DOPER’s non-SDMB-member mother, rendering her paralyzed, because that is what she deserves IMO.
4- I wish a piano would fall on HYPOTHETICAL DOPER’s non-SDMB-member mother, killing her, because that is what she deserves IMO.
5- I wish the mother’s of all SDMB Moderators would be killed in the next terror attack.
::cough::
I am not nit picking. I am asking for clarification when the stated rules are self conflicting. And I was not insinuating anyone was trying to include any individual poster in a group death wish.