Posted on 12/16/2008 8:16:22 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In Hopewell Township, N.J., the veterans of American Legion Post 339 have put their building up for sale. "Today's vets don't come out," 82-year old Jim Hall told The Times of Trenton last month. The post is down from 425 paying members in the 1960s and '70s to 202 this year; only about a dozen regularly attend.
But it's America that has changed, not vets.
Since 1970, the population of the United States has grown by about 50 percent, from roughly 200 million to 300 million. Over the same period, the number of active-duty armed forces has fallen approximately 50 percent, from 3 million to 1.4 million. A far smaller percentage of the citizenry now serves in the military.
Whereas in 1969 13 percent of Americans were veterans, in 2007 only 8 percent of us were.
Even more important than these general demographic shifts is the change wrought by the end of the draft in 1973. Until then, military service was distributed pretty evenly across regions. But that is no longer true. The residential patterns for current veterans and the patterns of state-level contributions of new recruits to the all-volunteer military have a distinct geographic tilt. And tellingly, the map of military service since 1973 aligns closely with electoral maps distinguishing red from blue states.
In 1969, the 10 states with the highest percentage of veterans were, in order: Wyoming, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Connecticut and Illinois.
In 2007, the 10 states with the highest percentage of post-Vietnam-era veterans were, in order: Alaska, Virginia, Hawaii, Washington, Wyoming, Maine, South Carolina, Montana, Maryland and Georgia.
Over the past four decades, which states have disappeared from the top 10? California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois, all big_blue states that have voted Democratic in the past five_presidential elections.
(Excerpt) Read more at sltrib.com ...
That happens in pretty much any society with a relatively small, all-volunteer force. Conscription used to create a shared experience for every male in a given society. But, nobody has any interest in bringing back the draft (least of all the military). So, we're likely to continue to have a situation where the military is a fairly insular community.
I think in many cases it has less to do with the lies of the left than the discomfort of veterans of a segregated military with the veterans of an integrated military. Imagine the scene if a white veteran brings his dark skinned best friend from service into a VFW in AL or MS in 1970 for a few drinks.
We can’t wall ourselves off from the world without serious effects.
And modern world wars would engulf us even if we tried to opt out.
You let the enemy feed on the weak, and he is only stronger when he comes for you.
Isolationism is merely wishful thinking.
VFW needs to go after the vets of Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.
These are the ones who will want the camaraderie of those who have gone through similar experience.
The key to getting these new vets involved is to promote them quickly to positions of responsibility and let them set the agendas.
Old vets will have to swallow their pride and let the new generation take over or their organization will die from lack of new blood.
Dream on.
They call it progressive or Alinsky Marxism or whatever, but it is the same fool's paradise political vision of equality and love and Gaia and the Age of Aquarius that would just spring into being de novo if only Americans and Repubicans were killed.
They may have poor military skills, but they hate us and want us dead as much as any Hitler youth wanted to kill the Jews.
Any there are a lot of power hungry men and women using sovereign states or other organizations and foundations who are happily inciting and using these modern education brainwashed youths.
Read a left-leaning review of the HBO series. Discusses Ficke but not his background. If he was there for the invasion and immediate period following, and had some skepticism, it doesn’t now seem ill-placed. But there’s a huge difference between questioning the strategy and tactics used in the early days v. opposing the war, just to oppose the war, as is generally done by the left.
“Some random thoughts on this: 1. How much does the organized harassment of recruiters & disruption of recruiting efforts in “Blue States” play into this uneven distribution of servicemen? 2. I’ve noticed an increasing trend of veterans to ‘retire’ or seek civilian employment near one of their duty stations. Most of the remaining military bases are in the South.”
Good points, all. You sound like / think like an economist.
I noticed Drudge is reporting that China is attempting to re-censor the Internet. Also, Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) violently shut down the only opposition television station. So much for the “fairness doctrine,” free speech, in China & Venezuela.
My point? Freedom isn’t ‘free.’ Bad people are still out there. Remember the civil rights movement, Liberals? It is still going on GLOBALLY, so - help us. Get with the program. Freedom.
Blue State voters = Coward-state voters
Whose ‘side’ are you on in the battle for human freedom, Democrats?.....
That was not the case in my area- the WWII guys straight up told the Vietnam Vets that they “lost” and that “Vietnam wasn’t a real war” didn’t take much of that to keep the VV away from the Vet organizations. I saw this treatment at the Vets organizations- at the VA hospitals (employees and WWII patients) and on the street. It was BS pure and simple- but in my experience Vietnam Vets were not welcomed back- even by other Vets. I am giving the benefit of a doubt to the WWII guys that they were brainwashed by the media- but I have a real hard time giving them that benefit of doubt to tell the truth.
What I am seeing now is Vietnam Vets welcoming and supporting the newer Vets, they just don’t do it through the organiations in many cases.
The Vietnam Vets wanted that camaraderie too, but they didn’t get it for the most part. I see the Vietnam Vets stepping up to welcome the new Vets, but not many through the organizations.
I disagree on the subject we are talking about. Isolationism has never been a policy of the US, and shouldn’t be. Then again, when we attempt to stave off every tin pot dictator, or wannabe Hitler before they blossom, we bankrupt ourselves, make our natural allies our enemies, then we are left broken and ready for conquest. We are currently nearing the time when we will not be able to fund the govt at all. How will that make US or the world safer? Soon the debt payments will be 50% of the budget.......not far off at all.
bttt
Can you imagine the different shades of pink on that if someone shot an RPG-7 at that rig???
I can’t wait for the next Civil War is over and read how a modern day Sherman marched through Starbucks.
Obama wants his own SA/SS.
I am a veteran and military retiree who now lives in Alabama because A) my last assignment was here, and B) the South is a much better part of the country to live in. People are better here, IMHO. I was raised in Vt/NH. Every time I visit there, I am amazed by the economic and political ignorance and lunacy. Most of my old friends and family still there think Southern folks are stupid. It's outrageously funny, since it's so apparent that the opposite is in fact true!
The very same wannabees from high school became Chiefs, Sargents, First Lietenants through the years. They joined the VFW, worked their way into a Post commander position, then turned things into a political Peyton Place. Those with families looking to join and help out, become drones for the bigwigs, who run the operation like a personal fiefdom......least that is how it is at my Post. I pay my dues, go in once in a blue moon, but seldom if ever participate anymore. Back in the day, my family had their wakes, weddings, Christmas party, New Years party, karaoke night etc......no more. It is run like the Democrat party, money is squandered, pet projects funded, but the building fund never increases.
I’m not discussing staving off every tin pot dictator, just the ones that present the most imminent danger to involving the U.S. and the world in a much wider and more costly war if they are allowed to continue their aggression.
Scenario: Kuwait was taken over by Saddam, and Saudi Arabia was threatened. This meant control over much of the world’s oil market. Was that tin pot dictator only or one who threatened the world?
What does it matter who controls the oil? If it is not US, it is someone that is an enemy. Name one ally of America that controls the oil in this century.
I seem to be missing your point. I'm sure you believe it matters when oil is controled by an enemy or a cartel of enemies who set the price of oil and set the amount of oil they pump so that we and our allies get squeezed.
Canadian and Mexican and North Sea oils are nominally from allies. Saudi Arabia has some times worked with us to secure oil supplies and pump more, but that regime is increasingly divided politically, and probably not to be counted on.
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