At 08:42 AM 9/18/2001 -0700, you wrote:
And there are US military veterans on this list. I'm one, I think Ronn is
also. Are there any more?
john
Damon, I believe. Not me, as I'm always very careful to state. Although
that may change soon. However, such was not my point. In fact, there is a
rather large military/civilian divide in this country. Although many
people know people who _once_ served in the military, an astonishingly
small fraction of people in this country know anyone _currently_ in the
military. That is, those people who _will soon be_ risking their lives, as
opposed to those who have once done it. There are around 1.2 million
people in uniform in this country. A large proportion of them live
overseas - most of the rest on bases that are isolated from civilian life.
They deserve better than to be described as brainwashed. Nor am I casual
with saying that the lives of my friends should be put at risk. Nick
produced a series of facts that were all true, but all irrelevant.
Ask yourselves this - not the veterans among us, as I'm sure the answer is
many, but those of us who _aren't_ veterans. How many people currently on
active duty could you describe as friends? By which I mean, you could pick
up a phone and call them today, and they wouldn't be surprised to hear from
you? If the answer is none, isn't that a bad thing? It worries me
intensely that for most of the people I know the answer is, in fact, none.
The essence of my point is this - if you can put a face to who might die
and say, "Gee, it might be Bill", then you're likely to be a little more
cautious about sending them off to do it. And very few American citizens
can currently do that. I don't claim any moral authority in speaking about
the military. A little bit of expertise, but no moral authority. I
haven't done it. But I do think that I have a right to say that they
should be treated with respect. And, through my friends, some emotional
attachment to the people who wars put at risk, and am therefore not likely
to ask that they do so casually.
Gautam
