You can be anti-war, and yet honor and respect those who join the armed forces and take on the job of defending our nation. As a matter of fact, you should. Years ago, I saw a movie – I don’t remember the title – that was essentially anti-war; this was soon after Vietnam.
But at some point, one of the main characters said that as much a mistake as Vietnam may have been, we should never forget that we have the freedom to protest wars and the military because someone, somewhere, is standing on a wall protecting us.
I have never forgotten that, and neither should you. Now,I never seriously considered enlisting, because I came of age in the later years of the Vietnam War.
That was 1970, and the nation and its military were both deeply disillusioned with a war our men were dying in, but our government was clearly not even trying to win.
I had a student deferment, and then was lucky enough to get a safe number in the draft lottery; the next year we went to an all-volunteer army.
Yet I later came to deeply admire all those men and the few women who did serve in that war, as in all our wars before and since. They were doing what their country asked them to do, just as soldiers, sailors and marines do today. No group of enlisted men sitting around their barracks decided this nation should get involved inVietnam.
Enlisted men didn’t make the decisions to get involved in Iraq and Afghanistan either. However, they did the fighting and the dying, and some are still doing so.
Again, at least for now, if our country is to survive, we need some men and women to choose military careers, or at least give a few years of their lives to military service.
Today, however, they have choices recruits of my generation never did. The military is much smaller now than it once was, and the pay is considerably higher. For many, serving three years is the only way they will ever be able to afford higher education. There is still danger and stress, though it is different. A wounded soldier is much more likely to receive medical treatment far faster than his counterparts in past wars did.
Yet while the stress is different, it is still there.Today, a soldier or Marine can be face time chatting with his family one minute, and be dead in a firefight less than an hour later. There’s something else lonely about today’s military. In Vietnam everyone was subject to the draft. Sure, there were a lot of phony deferments and just plain draft-dodging.
But even rich kids sometimes had to go. Now, most upper and middle class people can get away with ignoring the military’s needs and the smaller wars we fight; their kids will never have to fight in them. When I was of draft age, I selfishly thought a volunteer army was a good idea. Now, I’m not so sure. I am sure more of us need to pay attention to those who serve.
Finally – I want to thank those who in past years and at this very moment are putting their lives on the line for all of us, as members of America’s Armed Forces.
They saved the planet from evil in 1945, saved this nation from falling apart in 1865, and have racked up more glory than any of us will ever know.
A military career will never be for everyone. But for many young people, the benefits are worth considering –benefits to those who serve, and for all the rest of us as well.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
