At 06:59 PM 5/24/01 +0200 J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>because they were *ordered* to go? Many of America's wars were fought by
>people who went to the front because they were drafted, not because they
>wanted to go.
>
>BTW, don't you ever grow tired of that "Americans who gave their lives"
>rhetoric? I doubt many of them went to war to "give their lives"; they just
>happened to be in the wrong place when the bullets started flying and the
>bombs started dropping.
No, "the Americans who gave their lives" rhetoric is entirely appropriate.
Indeed, a great many Americans *did* volunteer - and a great many of them
died liberating the Netherlands. Perhaps you've read the book "A Bridge
Too Far"? An excellent read about the liberation of the Netherlands.
For those people, the situation is crystal clear - they willingly gave
their lives.
Yes, the case of the draftee is a bit more difficult. Nevertheless, most
draftees accepted their duty to serve their country. Those draftees
chose not to desert, not to run away, but to fight bravely for their country.
Yes, they may not have chosen to go - but when called upon, they answered.
And no, neither the volunteers nor the draftees really wanted to die.
Except for a few extraordinary people who, say, jump on a grenade to save
their comrades, most never conciously decided "at this moment I choose to
die for the good of my country." Nevertheless, service in the Armed
Forces meant acceptance of the risks involved, including the probability of
death. That is a prospect you and I are blessed to have never had to
confront - and the bravery with which those men and women accepted the high
risk of death for the greater good is most definitely worthy of our
commendation.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
