[Peace-discuss] [Fwd: [ronpaul-207] "Compulsory universal service" for ages 18-25]

[John W.]

On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 2:05 PM, E. Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag> wrote:

 The military is a top-down outfit.  Although your arguments do have some
> merit,
> I would not expect that changing the flavour of the cannon fodder is going
> to change the attributes of the devourers.
>

I agree with you.  It's not only a top-down organization, but one with very
severe penalties for non-conformists.  One has to be a really, really strong
person to go against the tide in the military.



> We had a neighbour who went to the Dominican Republic in the 1960's with
> the Army's 82nd Airborne.
> The US thought it needed to Police the World even back then.
> He came back from the army pretty badly messed up and never quite became
> normal.
>
> He was a smart guy and non-conventional in his thinking and I always liked
> talking to him.  He complained of nightmares.  He dated a nice lady who
> really cared about him but they
> were never able to establish a stable relationship.  He farmed and had
> cattle but
> finally went bankrupt after a few years success.
>

Sounds a lot like the Viet Nam experience.




> Karen Medina wrote:
>
> Wayne,
>
> I actually agree with you, that compulsory service is usually counter-productive.
>
> But I do not know of a way that would make the military less of an economic
> draft and therefore more equitably spread.
>
> There are plenty of kids out there who think they have no other chance in life
> than to take the offer that the recruiters offer them.  And their parents also
> believe this is true.
>
> One day that I was working the AWARE table, my high school science teacher
> came up and gave me a hug. We talked for awhile, catching up. And we talked
> about the wars. He told me he was very proud of me being a peace activist. He
> is the most peaceful person I have ever met.
>
> My friend and I also share the Dominican Republic. I lived in the Dominican
> Republic as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1980's. He was there in 1965 as a
> US Marine.
>
> As we discussed his grandchildren, he mentioned his granddaughter who was
> just graduating from high school in Montana. She had planned to join the
> military in order to pay for college. She wanted to take food and medical
> supplies to countries that were hit by hurricanes. She wanted to help people.
> And he had encouraged her to do this. But not now. Not since the US had started
> all this nonsense. She was going to have to find some other way to get money
> for college.
>
> I know I see the US's meddling in the DR from a different perspective. But this
> man, this grandfather, this ex-Marine, he taught me what peace is. He is a great
> man. with a granddaughter who is looking for a way to help people and to help
> her go to college.
>
> If we all had to serve in the military, we would change what the military does.
> We would have a stake in it. The military would not be made up of a bunch of
> violent misfits, it would be made up of people.
>
> -karen medina
>
>
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