West Point on East Side ( Liberals still stupid )( and the good news is ...)

The Sun ^ | November 15, 2006 | AMY DE ROSA

[george76]

With ...John Kerry's recent "botched joke" about our enlisted personnel, I've been reminded that skepticism toward the military is not uncommon in our country.

New York City is no exception to that sentiment as I've noticed lately while thinking about the military a bit more than usual.

Last year, our son applied and was offered admission to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Such a choice was not expected in our family, and it was all but unheard of at our private New York City high school.

However, with the help of the college counselor, and, actually, the enthusiastic support of our son's peers, he submitted his application.

Throughout the process, my husband and I heard a range of reactions from our own friends.

To be sure, there were those who expressed heartfelt support. But we were also met with confused looks and annoyed tones that seemed to belie attempts to figure out whether we were misguided or just crazy.

It was assumed that, as his mother, I did not approve of the idea, and both my husband and I were sternly warned to avoid all things related to the military.

We received reminders that now is not the time to attend a military academy because (as if we didn't know) there is a war going on.

Indignant parents reacted as if my husband and I had crossed a forbidden line by allowing our son to apply and go to West Point.

And, one parent added angrily, only 17-year-olds are "stupid" enough to consider the military as an option.

Antipathy toward the military is often found among people who claim to support our troops but not the war in Iraq. They are sometimes the same people who believe that it is possible to negotiate with terrorists.

[Chgogal]

"I had imagined the Army to be little more than a machine churning out fighters, but I'm now more inclined to think of the Army as the final word on team building, a think tank devoted to training our country's soldiers and officers. I imagined military academies to be filled with dull cookie-cutter types in uniform but instead have found dynamic, articulate, and thoughtful individuals. At West Point, these individuals are energized about educating young men and women, our sons and daughters, to be "leaders of character." Increasingly, I see military life as for neither the faint-hearted nor the weak. It is a life of sacrifice, service, and commitment."

Harvard, Yale, et al take note! The older I get the more proud I am of our Military. Thank you for the post and ((((Ping)))).

Do you have a son/daughter at West Point?

[Labyrinthos]

As a still-uninitiated parent of a West Point plebe, I am more than a little in awe of what the U.S. Army has done with over a thousand 18-year-olds fresh out of high school. In six weeks of basic training, our son, along with other new cadets, was challenged in ways I could never have foreseen. He learned how to salute, stand at attention, and march in step with his company. He learned how to be on time. He was introduced to M-16s, hand grenades, tactical marches, and long days that began at 5 a.m. He continues to learn what it is to follow orders down to the most seemingly inconsequential detail.

I live near West Point and just about every July 4th, we go to the the USMA to for the introduction of the freshman class, band concert, and one of the best fireworks display around. At this point, the plebes have been plebes for only a few days, and have barely broken in their dress gray slacks and white shirts. The entire class marches into the Trophy Point Amphitheater. Some of them look scared because they only learned to march the day before and are afraid of making a mistake and embarrassing their unit. The next morning, all the plebes head to the hills surrounding the Academy for six weeks of intense basic training. When they return to campus at the end of August, they return as a different person. They know how to march, and they know the meaning of leadership and dicipline.

For those of you who have never been to West Point, I highly recommend a visit during football season. Get there early and go watch the parade, as 4000 cadets in dress grays march out from the barracks and put on a show that will send chills down your spine.

[hsalaw]

Selfless commitment, the willingness to sacrifice, and the decision to serve are not popular notions in our culture today, nor are they ideas that we baby-boomer parents instill in our children.

Well said! As a baby boomer myself, I look forward to the day when our generation sits down and shuts up. Bunch of grey-haired, ponytailed, old loser hippie freaks.

[rmlew]

I wonder which private school the cadet attended.
If it was on the upper east side, there is Dalton, Birch Wathen Lenox, Browning, Lycee Francais, or the Day School.

Regis and Ramaz are also private schools, but the article said "private" not parochial and "de Rosa" doesn't sound Jewish.

I would pay to see the reaction of parents at Dalton!

[george76]

107th...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1738763/posts

[Labyrinthos]

People around here brag about the "southern college football experience." They ain't seen nothin until they have been to an Army-Navy game, or an Army - Air Force Game at Michie Stadium. We tailgate with brass and class.

[USMA '71]

George 76, thanks for posting. It sounds to me that the Plebe Parent needs to think about getting some new friends. Few people are familiar with the workings of the national military academies - but that doesn't stop them from making ignorant comments or insinuations. Although I am a "boomer", I also graduated from West Point at the height of the Viet Nam conflict in June of 1971 and I grow very weary of fat-assed loudmouths maligning our brave sons and daughters that chose to serve our country. I can say without a doubt that those moaning piss ants do not now, nor will they ever, have the guts or the brains of those dedicated plebes. I would suggest that the Plebe Parent will run into many more ignorant people during her son's time at "Hudson High" or "Woo Poo U" or whatever you chose to call USMA. However I will also advise that the parent will have many more things to be proud of as her son progresses toward graduation and his service in the armed forces. My best to all who chose to serve our country, with special regard to those who chose the Long Gray Line.

A proud graduate of USMA Class of 1971

[Hardastarboard]

West Point parent, class of 2010.

You've got something to be PROUD of.

[art_rocks]

So what did you buy with the money you set aside for your childs education?

I did ROTC on schloarship and this was always a discussion among the scholarship cadets, "What did your parents buy with the money they set aside for college?"

[ariamne]

No flame here, not in the military either; but I do know there were a lot of NY firefighters who signed up after 9/11. One of them was already a Marine who served in Desert Storm, my best friend's husband. He told me there were dozens of guys in Yonkers, Queens, Manhattan firehouses who signed up, some ended up in Afghanistan, some Iraq.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Congratulations. Your son joins a long and honorable tradition of service and valor."

Unless of course he has to clean up after the dog. :)

Congratulations. Like you, America will be proud of him.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Last year, our son applied and was offered admission to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Must be gay!

BEAT ARMY!

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Go Army! Beat Navy!

Good God, you can't be serious. We're going to another bowl game this year, man---you clowns are going to get crushed in a few weeks.

[Rummyfan]

You still have to play the game. Army's 2006 season has been pretty much a disaster but December 2 can correct that!

[struwwelpeter]

9/11 changed a lot of things in the world. I wish 'W' had kept the spirit alive. Once the republicans moved away from the GWOT, then all they were left with were prescription drugs and amnesty.

Not their strong suites.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

You still have to play the game. Army's 2006 season has been pretty much a disaster but December 2 can correct that!

Hey, it's okay to dream . . .

[wtc911]

132 US military from NY dead in Iraq.

All died protecting your right to prove here that you're an asshole.

[Veeram]

The young kids who sign up for military service are my hero's, and when I hear liberals who paint these young people as idiots, it makes my blood boil.


These arrogant ivory tower liberals see themselves as better than everyone else, and they simply don't get the fact that there are things worth fighting for, and I guess they certainly don't see anything about America that is worth protecting, even their own sorry liberal asses.


I suspect it will take another 9/11 type event for some of these dull witted libs to wake up.

[george76]

Maybe some of the 'moderates' will wake up, but not many true liberals.

" I suspect it will take another 9/11 type event for some of these dull witted libs to wake up."

[struwwelpeter]

Casaulties in Iraq by state: AL: 47 (state population: 4,500,752)
NY: 132 (state population: 19,190,115), of these casaulties, 8 from the Bronx, 14 from Brooklyn, and 5 from Queens.

I stand corrected and sincerely apologize to all the brave NYC soldiers.