Posted on 12/12/2004 10:08:17 PM PST by paudio
Being inside the club reminded me of how much America's elite has degenerated.
The Union League was founded in 1862 to support the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. On the walls are portraits of prominent Philadelphians who gave their lives fighting for the Union. There are also plaques -- with many, many names on them -- of Union League members who died fighting in World Wars I and II. You can find similar plaques at Ivy League colleges.
I saw no plaque honoring Union League members who died fighting in Vietnam and subsequent conflicts.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
They make it into service academies. Thanks to reforms, they've made sure that most of them make it through where 2/3 used to fail out.
Call me crazy, but it might have something to do with there being 10 times more Americans killed in World War I and World War II than in "Vietnam and subsequent conflicts."
Please cite your data, both where you got the socioeconomic backgrounds of service academy applicants, entrants, and graduates and where you got those attrition rates.
During the middle ages in Roman Catholic Europe, male members of the elite had only two occupational choices in life: the military or the clergy. Even in pre-WWI Britain, the military was one of the few respectable occupations for aristocrats. During the US Civil War, though, many upper class Yankees (dominated by wealthy businessmen and professionals) did not fight. Wealthy landowning Southerners, still adhering to the older aristocratic view that with wealth and position comes an obligation to the serve in the military, were more likely to volunteer.
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The people who started the wars fought in them as well, or at least their sons, brothers and nephews did. Adds a certain perspective.
The writer apparently is lost in a past that he could never know.
Why would he even bother?
Elites also used to set the high water mark for refinement and culture. Now they rut in the mud like pigs.
Are you thinking of anyone in particular?
This would require a constitutional amendment, and that would be hard. But it beats trying to bring back an unneeded and unwanted draft just to get the most privileged among us to do their duty. And the principle is sound. Those who are unwilling to serve should not be permitted to lead."
Not a bad idea . . .
Basically the same numbers I used except there seems to be an inconsistency...the "non-theater" deaths listed for WWI and WWII are "in-theater" but non battle deaths. (Disease mostly.)
And I have no idea where the 30,000 "non-theater" Vietnam deaths would come from.
Just wondering...the image of mud rutting privileged was both intriguing and disturbing.
What's the soulution ? Have the government force you to serve in the military after HS graduation ? Please, stop the do gooders !
IF I was writing the next DRAFT LAW...the children of Veterans would be Exempt.
Everyone else is ELIGABLE!
The children of {serving} Congressmen and Senators would be classed 1A+, {Note the "+", these folks MUST serve ASAP (unless they have served)}.
Same, for the kids of serving and past Presidents & VPs.
My DRAFT would ignore Gender.
on "Starship Troopers", and the rest of Heinlein's works...
Assume "everyone" gets 1 vote & veterans get 2.
What is the result?
it used to be that most men in Congress were veterans.....that is not true anymore....
we have the majority of people in this country that have never known war, poverty, need, poor health, early death of older relatives or death of the very young...
the majority now have never served and they may not even know anyone who has served....
so how can we increase our loyalty and our respect for our soldiers if the majority have no common belief in them?
Most poor Americans avoid the military, too.
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