Dan should leave his little Ivory Tower every once in a while. He reminds me of the people who claimed not to know a single person who voted for Nixon though he won in a landslide.The reason is that these people, like Rodricks, surrounded themselves with the same kind of folks as they. In other words, they voted for the opponent and so did everyone in their liberal little social circle (which they think is the norm). Rodricks does not know anyone effected by or injured in the war because he is a liberal who hangs out with people who are unlikely to join the service. Rodricks is caught up in a little world of liberals who see themselves as the saviors of society who are far too intelligent to do that military sort of thing.
We experience this war vicariously, through several degrees of separation, if at all. Like vast numbers of comfortable, middle-class Americans, I have no friends or relatives serving in the military.
No Dan, like millions of liberal middle-class Americans you have no family serving in the military. There are millions of middle-class families with family members serving. Perhaps you should leave your blue state sanctuary and go to a few red states. If you are having trouble, come see me and I will point out a few to you (even a few in a blue state).
Perhaps Dan could get around and meet people from other walks of life who have family members who have been effected. It might still be a bit difficult at that because there have been around 2500 deaths and 15000 casualties. In a country this size it might be a bit difficult to find a lot of people so effected. But if Dan goes out and tries he is sure to find some. He just needs to look a little farther than the fence of his gated community of liberal intellectuals.
The idea of a draft for everyone is ridiculous. How can anyone be forced to do Ameri-Corps or the Peace Corps? What if you did not want to be involved in those Kumbaya hand holding social experiments and wanted to go to medical school. Or what if you wanted to be in the military and not the “corps?” Rodricks has this idea that there is some kind of disparity in the military. You know the song and dance. Rich people’s kids are not serving while poor people’s kids are. It is the lack of opportunities that has caused these kids to pick an awful career like the military. Well Dan, Many of these kids come from pretty decent households. I know and served with many of them. Sure there are people from poor homes but the idea that there are no other opportunities is just wrong. The economy is booming and there are plenty of jobs. In fact, the good economy is one reason that some branches of service have trouble reaching recruiting goals. The opportunities Rodricks says are not there are keeping kids from joining the military.
Dan Rodricks needs to look at things realistically and stop all the mindless prattle that he is famous for. I can not figure which is the worst whiner or biggest liberal, him or Michael Oleskar, who thankfully, is gone. Dan, when we want someone to push social programs and mandated service on us we will ask you to help. Until that time do us a favor and shut up. For a group of people who worry about losing liberties because of NSA programs you sure don’t mind taking away the liberties of our children with your half-baked compulsory service to socialism.
As for the military Dan, let us recruit from people who want to be there, not a bunch of snot nosed whiners and liberals who will cause more harm than good. All we need is to fill our military with a bunch of whiny liberal kids who will get killed because the enemy did not respect their self esteem. No thanks Dan!
Source: Baltimore Sun