Quote from: onan on September 07, 2011, 06:55:09 AM
I think you sum it up very well. By and large we are all motivated for personal reasons. And many do enlist in the military for noble reasons. Reasons like not finding work, the potential for academic advancements after serving. But there are also reasons of propaganda, like the video of brave adventurers slaying a dragon then morphing into marines or repositioning a satellite to bring the world safe.
It has been my experience that many in positions of authority do believe spending time in the military is counter productive to achieving the "American Dream", whatever that means. When a talking head uses the terms brave, safeguarding, patriotism, they are blowing smoke up your ass.
All that being said, I do not think, Silent, you may have a full understanding of just how many never consider enlisting in the military. Because of the let some other (stupid) guy do it.
Is Kissinger wrong that many that enlist are not near the brightest? No, and he is a fucknut for not raging against that mentality. More soldiers than not never face combat. But combat isn't the only aspect of what is noble in the military. The very thing that so many are not interested in is the sacrifice. And even if one has no other options, once someone signs and swears they are not leaving. Even if they have fulfilled their "contract", the small print can keep them there for years.
It isn't a comfortable spot to accept praise when one is being sincerely humble. I appreciate what you have done.
Very nicely put, your posts usually get my brain going. I think our definitions of noble are a bit different is all. I can see how your ideas can be seen that way but I was thinking more in a strict sense of a selfless, putting others first, mentality. Which I don't believe exists in any form when you really peel away the layers of motivation and look at the psycology of why we make decisions.
I was being too all inclusive with my comment about stupid people joining the military. Sure there's some who buy into the propoganda or for whatever reason don't know what they're getting into, and maybe never realize, but by and large I think most know exactly what they're doing and don't fit the stereotype of the dumb grunt. It's easy for some people to see the whole thing as a dumb idea because they just can't mentally put themselves into a position where joining would be advantageous. I'm fully aware of the stereotype society has about enlisted military, and the unwillingness to join, no matter how hidden it is in the name of political correctness. In fact I can totally understand it since for most people there's no reason to take those risks. It's not a question of brave vs. coward but a question of "what's in it for me?" If everyone were well educated and had decent access to good paying jobs we would need to have mandatory military service.