Within the past week, I’ve learned that several friends from high school have finally been called to duty in Iraq. There are so many reasons why I don’t believe sending troops to Iraq is the right choice, but this blog is really more about what my friends had to say about it.
They have been in the service for several years now, and after boot-camp (and forgive me for any incorrect terminology) they were serving part-time. The military has paid them well. From my viewpoint, it has also been responsible for some very drastic changes in character.
Dealing out my libertarian rhetoric at a party this past weekend, I mentioned to my friend that only a vote for Badnarik would be a vote to bring them home from Iraq. My friend said, “Who says I don’t want to go?” I was slightly flabberghasted by the statement, so I stepped back and said, “Well, I guess I’m not sure what you want, but I know what I want for you.”
Asking another friend how he felt about being called up, he mentioned that he was excited to go. Not to die or anything, but definitely to fire off some automatic weapons. To change the world for the better, even.
There are so many psychological factors at work here. The military is able to bring people out of poverty. Now my friends were certainly never poor, but as young adults trying to become completely independent, the military is a perfect financial choice. Thus, they are attributed the same positive characteristics that a generous parent might be given. In the same way, they are in the perfect position to instill or enforce “successful” character traits in both disaffected and disenfranchised young people. Needless to say, the advertising campaign for the military focuses heavily on the TechTV watching demographic, that is the gamers with itchy trigger-fingers. They’ve put out several completely free games (see America’s Army), and I’m sure you’ve all seen the commercials of the Marines who can somehow transcend terrestrial boundaries to fight dangerous dragons, perhaps with the ambition of readying audiences for a forthcoming cinematic experience.
What I want to say to my friends is this:
I’m behind you all the way. I’d fight alongside my brothers, just as you have chosen to.
How can I express this clearly? I’m ready for a future where invasive force plays no part in peace-keeping; that is, a future where free nations are free to choose their own form of government. This future can’t be taken by force. It can only be spurred by example.
Even though I don’t agree with our nation’s actions, and I find it highly discouraging that the military is such a great practical option for people like us, I’ll be 100% in your corner while you’re in Iraq.