Aureantes' Lair

So, this is what's got the politicos' panties in a bunch lately.....


Admittedly, it was awkwardly said and then hastily clarified....but then, it's really talking about two different things if you look at it closely enough, and neither side quite seems to grasp that. Failure to navigate the country's education system, regardless of actual intelligence, may very well lead to military enlistment as the most-likely way to gain financial stability.....and lack of practical intelligence, regardless of the amount of "education" that one has bought (navigating the educational system by money), can lead to some plenty stupid policy decisions -- like "getting stuck in Iraq."

I don't think that Senator Kerry meant anything against the actual intelligence of the average American soldier, but it is thin-skinned defensiveness/denial on the part of his attackers to ignore the fact that lack of successful formal education and the career paths it opens is a well-known reason why people join the military -- because what they've gotten so far hasn't worked for them and they want a better chance via training experience and college funding through the G.I. Bill. That's hardly unintelligent as a motivation, but it is exploited to cover over the risks and compromises, and it is a situation that makes educational and socioeconomic inequity highly advantageous to recruitment efforts, because it means they have leverage. Lack of opportunity = "hungry' recruits (remember The Firm?) = soldiers who will not question orders or make trouble, because they know they're both beholden and under the thumb of the DOD. Which is no fault of their own, but it is an insult to them that they are so obviously used.

That's one point in favour of universal socio-military service....not only would the rich not be able to buy their [kids'] way out of it, but it would desegregate the military services from being a bloc apart from civilians, desegregate the social assumptions of who can and does serve their country, and involve all citizens in the decisions (rights, training discipline, obligations, benefits, risks, rehabilitation) that go into such service -- and making sure that it is service, and not slavery, that is being practiced.

Oh, and make us think a lot more carefully about going to war, 'cause we'd know that it was all of our asses on the line. Something to think about the next time, eh?