"Tim" wrote in message
...

On Monday, September 9, 2013 7:19:40 AM UTC-5, F.O.A.D. wrote:


Sorry, Tim, but I was never drafted and signing up just encourages
militarism.

Hmm, I wasn't either.
Really? I thought it was enlisting to defend your country.


Beside, I thought getting an education and starting a career
were more important than killing SE Asians who posed no threat to
the United States.

Not everyone who served during the 'Vietnam Era' went to Vietnam,
Harry.
The Soviet Union was a real threat, though.

-------------------------------------------

Harry sometimes strikes me as a charter member of the "me, me, me"
generation, even though he was born and grew up before it really
became a prevalent philosophy. It is evidenced by his comment,
"Besides, I thought getting an education and starting a career were
more important ....".

Many of us grew up in roughly the same time period but were influenced
by a broader range of values and mores. In those days devoting a
couple of years of your life to military service or finding other ways
to serve your country for a short period of time was an honorable
thing to do. It certainly wasn't for the pay or to receive a direct,
personal benefit ... the goals that influenced Harry. The concept of
Patriotism and service was more pure in those days.

When JFK introduced the concept of the Peace Corps in 1960, he
described it as an alternative way to "serve your country", an example
of the values of the time. The Peace Corps was officially
incorporated the following year and offered young people a means of
fulfilling whatever obligations they felt they had without military
service. Most who have served in the Peace Corps consider it as one
of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.

None of this is meant to say that everyone should feel a need to serve
their country or serve in the military. It's a personal thing, based
on how you were raised and influenced. However, the need for a
military exists in every generation and those who choose to serve (or
those who were called upon to serve and did) ... should not be
vilified in the manner that Harry engages in. This is the thing about
Harry's attitude that ****es me off sometimes.

Ironically, those who serve in the military, be it for only 2 years,
4 years, (9 years active duty and two reserve for me), or made it a
career, almost all realize later in life that the experience broadened
their lives and they likely received more personal benefit from the
experience than they gave.