writes:
Sending blacks and poor white trash into Vietnam is an American shameful
episode
In all countries and all wars it is the poor who end up doing most of the
fighting and dying. Say what you will about the morality and futility of war,
it seems to be a basic element of human social interaction. When we were
hunter gatherers we fought with any tribe we came into intimate conflict with
(such was the condition in the New Guinea Highlands when the civilized world
"discovered" these groups in the 30s). Once we had developed agriculture and
sedentary societies capable of division of labor, war became more organized.
There were professional fighters but the poor and social outcasts always had
to go out and give their lives. Things have actually gotten better in the
past century. During the Civil War (and in many countries today) it is
acceptable to pay someone else (obviously poorer) to serve and possibly die
for you.
