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Too Bad More Americans Don't Understand
gunluv280
Member Posts: 178 ✭✭
Following is a great article from Washington Post about how a guy changed his way of thinking about the military when his son joined the USMC. The reaction he got from some other parents is truly disturbing to those who care about this country!!!
My Heart on the Line
By Frank Schaeffer
Tuesday, November 26, 2002; Page A29
Before my son became a Marine, I never thought much about who was defending me. Now when I read of the war on terrorism or the coming conflict in Iraq, it cuts to my heart. When I see a picture of a member of our military who has been killed, I read his or her name very carefully. Sometimes I cry.
In 1999, when the barrel-chested Marine recruiter showed up in dress blues and bedazzled my son John, I did not stand in the way. John was headstrong, and he seemed to understand these stern, clean men with straight backs and flawless uniforms. I did not. I live on the Volvo-driving, higher education-worshiping North Shore of Boston. I write novels for a living. I have never served in the military.
It had been hard enough sending my two older children off to Georgetown and New York University. John's enlisting was unexpected, so deeply unsettling. I did not relish the prospect of answering the question "So where is John going to college?" from the parents who were itching to tell me all about how their son or daughter was going to Harvard. At the private high school John attended, no other students were going into the military.
"But aren't the Marines terribly Southern?" asked one perplexed mother while standing next to me at the brunch following graduation. "What a waste, he was such a good student," said another parent. One parent (a professor at a nearby and rather famous university) spoke up at a school meeting and suggested that the school should "carefully evaluate what went wrong."
When John graduated from three months of boot camp on Parris Island, 3,000 parents and friends were on the parade deck stands. We parents and our Marines not only were of many races but also were representative of many economic classes. Many were poor. Some arrived crammed in the backs of pickups, others by bus. John told me that a lot of parents could not afford the trip.
We in the audience were white and Native American. We were Hispanic, Arab and African American and Asian. We were former Marines wearing the scars of battle, or at least baseball caps emblazoned with battles' names. We were Southern whites from Nashville and skinheads from New Jersey, black kids from Cleveland wearing ghetto rags and white ex-cons with ham-hock forearms defaced by jailhouse tattoos. We would not have been mistaken for the educated and well-heeled parents gathered on the lawns of John's private school a half-year before.
After graduation one new Marine told John, "Before I was a Marine, if I had ever seen you on my block I would've probably killed you just because you were standing there." This was a serious statement from one of John's good friends, an African American ex-gang member from Detroit who, as John said, "would die for me now, just like I'd die for him."
My son has connected me to my country in a way that I was too selfish and insular to experience before. I feel closer to the waitress at our local diner than to some of my oldest friends. She has two sons in the Corps. They are facing the same dangers as my boy. When the guy who fixes my car asks me how John is doing, I know he means it. His younger brother is in the Navy.
Why were I and the other parents at my son's private school so surprised by his choice? During World War II, the sons and daughters of the most powerful and educated families did their bit. If the immorality of the Vietnam War was the only reason those lucky enough to go to college dodged the draft, why did we not encourage our children to volunteer for military service once that war was done?
Have we wealthy and educated Americans all become pacifists? Is the world a safe place? Or have we just gotten used to having somebody else defend us? What is the future of our democracy when the sons and daughters of the janitors at our elite universities are far more likely to be put in harm's way than are any of the students whose dorms their parents clean?
I feel shame because it took my son's joining the Marine Corps to make me take notice of who is defending me. I feel hope because perhaps my son is part of a future "greatest generation." As the storm clouds of war gather, at least I know that I can look the men and women in uniform in the eye. My son is one of them. He is the best I have to offer. He is my heart.
Frank Schaeffer is a writer. His latest book, co-written with his son, Marine Cpl. John Schaeffer, is "Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps." He will answer questions about this article in a Live Online discussion at 1 p.m. today at www.washingtonpost.com.
My Heart on the Line
By Frank Schaeffer
Tuesday, November 26, 2002; Page A29
Before my son became a Marine, I never thought much about who was defending me. Now when I read of the war on terrorism or the coming conflict in Iraq, it cuts to my heart. When I see a picture of a member of our military who has been killed, I read his or her name very carefully. Sometimes I cry.
In 1999, when the barrel-chested Marine recruiter showed up in dress blues and bedazzled my son John, I did not stand in the way. John was headstrong, and he seemed to understand these stern, clean men with straight backs and flawless uniforms. I did not. I live on the Volvo-driving, higher education-worshiping North Shore of Boston. I write novels for a living. I have never served in the military.
It had been hard enough sending my two older children off to Georgetown and New York University. John's enlisting was unexpected, so deeply unsettling. I did not relish the prospect of answering the question "So where is John going to college?" from the parents who were itching to tell me all about how their son or daughter was going to Harvard. At the private high school John attended, no other students were going into the military.
"But aren't the Marines terribly Southern?" asked one perplexed mother while standing next to me at the brunch following graduation. "What a waste, he was such a good student," said another parent. One parent (a professor at a nearby and rather famous university) spoke up at a school meeting and suggested that the school should "carefully evaluate what went wrong."
When John graduated from three months of boot camp on Parris Island, 3,000 parents and friends were on the parade deck stands. We parents and our Marines not only were of many races but also were representative of many economic classes. Many were poor. Some arrived crammed in the backs of pickups, others by bus. John told me that a lot of parents could not afford the trip.
We in the audience were white and Native American. We were Hispanic, Arab and African American and Asian. We were former Marines wearing the scars of battle, or at least baseball caps emblazoned with battles' names. We were Southern whites from Nashville and skinheads from New Jersey, black kids from Cleveland wearing ghetto rags and white ex-cons with ham-hock forearms defaced by jailhouse tattoos. We would not have been mistaken for the educated and well-heeled parents gathered on the lawns of John's private school a half-year before.
After graduation one new Marine told John, "Before I was a Marine, if I had ever seen you on my block I would've probably killed you just because you were standing there." This was a serious statement from one of John's good friends, an African American ex-gang member from Detroit who, as John said, "would die for me now, just like I'd die for him."
My son has connected me to my country in a way that I was too selfish and insular to experience before. I feel closer to the waitress at our local diner than to some of my oldest friends. She has two sons in the Corps. They are facing the same dangers as my boy. When the guy who fixes my car asks me how John is doing, I know he means it. His younger brother is in the Navy.
Why were I and the other parents at my son's private school so surprised by his choice? During World War II, the sons and daughters of the most powerful and educated families did their bit. If the immorality of the Vietnam War was the only reason those lucky enough to go to college dodged the draft, why did we not encourage our children to volunteer for military service once that war was done?
Have we wealthy and educated Americans all become pacifists? Is the world a safe place? Or have we just gotten used to having somebody else defend us? What is the future of our democracy when the sons and daughters of the janitors at our elite universities are far more likely to be put in harm's way than are any of the students whose dorms their parents clean?
I feel shame because it took my son's joining the Marine Corps to make me take notice of who is defending me. I feel hope because perhaps my son is part of a future "greatest generation." As the storm clouds of war gather, at least I know that I can look the men and women in uniform in the eye. My son is one of them. He is the best I have to offer. He is my heart.
Frank Schaeffer is a writer. His latest book, co-written with his son, Marine Cpl. John Schaeffer, is "Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps." He will answer questions about this article in a Live Online discussion at 1 p.m. today at www.washingtonpost.com.
Comments
The gene pool needs chlorine.
The Romans had a similar situation and ended up being governed by emperors appointed by the Protarian (sp) Guards. Are we witnessing a repetition of history?
Whenever those who have the most to lose (the elite, wealthy, and educated) are not willing to protect their position, they deserve to lose everything.
This is not a hot subject, but I suggest we bring back the draft.
It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
Resident Pyrrhonist
The upper-Atlantic states have the lowest rates of enlistment. It doesn't suprise me that this liberal Boston-ite (parasite on the butt of society) is so brainwashed that he, even as a professional writer, doesn't know how to convey his ideas without sounding patronizing or condescending.
if your going to be a savage, be a headhunter
It is fairly easy to convince kids to be gung ho, and they do a lot of the dying, sadly. Thankfully, they do a lot less of it these days with America's magnificent military technology in the field. The people I admire most, perhaps, are those who have grown older, and mature, and still found compelling reasons to remain committed to a strong military, despite knowing what they know about the true nature of war. A strong defense is always necessary in this world. Ironically, even without the Soviet Union, we need "the deterrent factor." Who would have thought...
I must add that I am almost as proud of the scientists and engineers who have created our current generation of weapons and military technology as I am of the people who have to deliver it. The array of devices at our disposal is truly astounding. One tiny example: have you seen the latest night vision scopes? It looks as clear as watching a black & white big-screen motion picture! And the unmanned drone that deep-sixed a six-pack of terrorists in a car with a Hellfire missile was perhaps the most amazing use of surgically precise force -- without putting an American in harm's way -- I've ever seen. Even the Israeli's must be drooling over that.
I am proud this Thanksgiving to be an American -- not for our technology, but for the principles and the men & women behind it.
It used to be an honor to have a son in uniform, but today, far too many people are disappointed if their son or daughter choses the military. To take the attitude that "something went wrong" if a kid joins up after high school is, to me, appalling. But then, these elitist types would probably say the same thing if the kid decided to be an auto technician instead of going to college and getting a "respectable" career.
To me, this is the same elitism that is at the heart of the "liberal" doctrine---they need to "help" us poor ignorant masses who are too stupid and lazy to help ourselves. Meanwhile, theirs are the 20-something kids who are out protesting the World Bank and IMF and capitalism, and whatever else is on the list, despite the fact that they seldom even understand what it is they're protesting. Often, I think they are protesting simply because they've been brought up to have no respect for any our institutions or authorities.
Robsguns--I've been in the military for 16 years, and I agree that the uniform doesn't make the person. This is true for USA, USN, USAF, law enforcement personnel, as well as the USMC. Even the so-called "greatest generation" had its share of losers. Still, when I know someone is a fellow servicemember, I can't help but feel we have at least have some common bond. They may be scum or they may not, I'll let them answer that question through their words and deeds.
The NRA is on our side!
Yes I agree with your statement, case in point, quote: Still, when I know someone is a fellow servicemember, I can't help but feel we have at least have some common bond. They may be scum or they may not, I'll let them answer that question through their words and deeds.
You are exactly correct here. It is what I believe also. It is also not intended that anyone take it that I believe ANYONE walking around in a uniform is scum, merely that there are those who fit that description, through their deeds as an American soldier, etc. As I wrote above, men and women should not be judged for their appearances, as to what they are, and that is what really ticked me off about this letter. This man has learned nothing. Having been around all types of people in my life, I have learned these things. This man obviously has not had enough exposure to real life, even though he has begun to be exposed to real life, he still does not get it. So many Americans, and others, are guilty of the same ignorance as this man. It is what our world has come to, or maybe it hasnt come to this, maybe it has always been this way, just as politics has always been as it is. Very, very good post, thought provoking to say the least.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
Don't be hard on yourself, by offering yourself up you have done exactly the right thing. Willingness to contribute is what counts, not what the contribution actually is. Many of our WWII vets sat at typewriters, peeled potatoes, tinkered with machines. You don't have to fight battles to contribute to the Republic.
The Romans had a similar situation and ended up being governed by emperors appointed by the Protarian (sp) Guards. Are we witnessing a repetition of history?
Whenever those who have the most to lose (the elite, wealthy, and educated) are not willing to protect their position, they deserve to lose everything.
This is not a hot subject, but I suggest we bring back the draft.
It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
Resident Pyrrhonist
You are exactly right. It is only a republic that relies on broad military participation. Despotisms use regulars, mercenaries, and eventually evolve into military elites, like the hereditary knights, Mamalukes, or samurai.
*In 1909 Henry Ford created the Model T and it got around 30mpg..today's Ford's may be safer and more luxurious but in 100 years we've not really gotten further on a gallon of gasoline have we?*