One of the sanest things I’ve ever read about joining the military…

…comes from a Mad Rocket Scientist:

“…somewhere in there I developed a sincere sense of pride in what my fellow servicemen and I were doing.  I knew that my purpose was not to kill people and break stuff, viagra buy cialis it was to serve my community, cheap all 260 million members of that community.  Maybe I did not enter the military with such ideas, but I certainly left the military with them, and I am quite certain I am not even close to being alone in that regard.  The military does not just exist to fight wars, they exist to protect our community, our country as a whole.  Sometimes that means by fighting wars, just or otherwise.  Often, however, it means picking people off of flooded rooftops after a hurricane, or delivering relief supplies to areas hard to reach, or establishing law and order when events have caused such to break down.  It means busting ass to fly a teenage girl from a ship at sea to a hospital on shore so her life can be saved, or building an infrastructure in areas that have none.  It means offering humanitarian aid to those who need it, anywhere and everywhere they need it.  It means going into harms way, for whatever reason, to protect everyone.  As servicemen and women, we lived not to fight, kill, and destroy, but to protect and preserve.

The military is one of the greatest opportunities that we can offer to those who are disaffected and disenfranchised, whether we have a war on or not.  It need not be filled with only those who join for love of country or family tradition, and it never should be, as it would ruin the color of the traditions that are there.  It needs to be filled with persons from all walks of life, so that it represents us as a whole.  Yes the poor and the uneducated are there, but so are the middle class and the rich, and at least the military offers the poor an equal chance to get ahead, as it cares not for how much money you have.

It doesn’t matter why a person joins the military (or the fire department, or the police, or the EMS), what matters is what they take from it.  Maybe it is a sense of pride, or a sense of community and service, or courage, or a desire to be a better person and citizen.  Or maybe it is just a paycheck.  No matter what, most people leave the service better off then when they arrived, even if they were injured or wounded in the process.  Maybe they entered poor and hungry and irresponsible, but if they leave disciplined and skilled and ready to work and serve and add to their community, then why does it matter why they joined.”

Add comment March 25th, 2008


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Being in a wheelchair gives you a unique perspective on the world. This blog features many of my views on politics, art, science, and entertainment. My name is Elliot Stearns. More...

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