WI Crippler

Thats generally the misconception out there. If you join the military YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!!!

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"What Jesus fails to appreciate is that it's the meek who are the problem."- Reg

Kayleigh Katz

I think being maimed is fairly high on the list too. Hey, it's not like it doesn't happen.

WI Crippler

Maybe kids shouldn't get drivers liscences either? I mean, thats a choice too. Its pretty dangerous out there, oh my!!!!

Kayleigh Katz

Maybe. I don't have a license so I don't know if I'm qualified to comment. But I would agree its dangerous "out there".

Perhaps kids are performing a sort of crude cost/benefit analysis where they see the benefit of being able to drive as greater than the benefit of spreading democracy to reluctant regions of the world.

I dunno, no one I know would EVER join the military so I don't have much personal experience.

WI Crippler

Well I did join the military. So I've got oodles.

Simon W. Moon

I think if the Iraq war was as popular and appealing as cruising the strip [or as inevitable as learning to drive], kids would see the two in the same light.

As is, the risks of the two [w/e they may be] are not the issue so much as the rewards vs risk calculations.
If Iraq was sold to the populace in a responsible and forthright manner it would probably be a more popular war. However the lack of candor and manhandling of the facts involved in selling the war to the electorate has left a bad taste in the mouth of Americans.

However, driving is still a popular past time that is enjoyed by many. Fighting in Iraq is somewhat less enjoyable.

__________________
"That is the problem... [we] fell in love with the idea that politicians-- even the slickest and brightest presidential candidates-- were real heroes and truly exciting people. That is wrong on its face. They are mainly dull people with corrupt instincts and criminal children. -H.S.T"

WI Crippler

This I agree with.

However, the idea that "If you join the military you are probably going to die or be severely maimed" is simply inaccurate and misleading. Much more of our troops come home alive, than not, and most of them come back without maiming injuries. Thats not saying it doesn't happen nor is it to minimize the sacrifice of those that have died or been maimed, but its a known risk just like anything else, like driving a car. Of course kids are going to want to drive a car more than they want to join the military. Thats true in peacetime. When I signed up, it was during the beginning of the Kosovo crisis. I had no idea how that was going to pan out, but it didn't stop me from signing up or send me running away from my recruiter because I was afraid I'd get killed. Kids are still signing up for the military, despite this war. Maybe the recruiters aren't getting the numbers like they did before, but thats to be expected with volunteer forces. We are probably getting better, more committed kids in the military now than we were before. We aren't just getting kids that are looking for benefits.

Kayleigh Katz

I thank you for your service and I'm really sorry you didn't have better options available.

WI Crippler

What makes you think that?

Kayleigh Katz

Well... because if you did have better options available and you didn't take them then you wouldn't be rational and I wouldn't want to be rude and call someone irrational.

I guess if you did it out of some sense of duty that's nice, but I don't know anyone like that so its hard for me to imagine that people like that exist.