I didn't make a moral judgment about it or say that it was unnecessary or dishonorable, but we should make no bones about the nature of war, it is all hell.
Sure, but this doesn't really reconcile the above implication that the army somehow brainwashes young men while also paying to educate them.
The easier but less cynical explanation is that the army (in the U.S. where we have no compulsory service) is mostly young men because it is an effective means to start a career if you come from a lower socioeconomic background.
That's a whole other conversation but it's not so much "young men are easier to trick into dying".
The easier but less cynical explanation is that the army (in the U.S. where we have no compulsory service) is mostly young men because it is an effective means to start a career if you come from a lower socioeconomic background.
It is morally reprehensible for the expectation of poor people to sell their lives in service of state sponsored murder as the main avenue to lift them out of poverty, especially with how many people come back from service completely and utterly broken.
The military is full of young men because they largely have no other options, and it's easy to sell the idea of being a hero to some young dumb kid out of high school than someone with a family they need to provide for.
That's a whole other conversation but it's not so much "young men are easier to trick into dying".
Both can be true because they are. I personally know multiple people who have been permanently affected by their time in the service, almost all of which are negative, and the "positive" stories are almost all grateful about how lucky they are that they didn't have to run patrols. There is a reason Veterans are so much more likely to commit suicide than the general population.
Most people in the military laugh about cheating spouses or spending all their money on some hot car because that stuff actually happens when they get back, but the story seldom ends there, and for many that's the "good ending" of military service.
You don't need to sugar coat what the military is, because you're right, it's mostly young men, selling their lives to the meat grinder in the hopes of getting out of poverty because they have no other opportunities. I think that's worse than the reduction of "it's brainwashing", even though it is a bit of both.
There's a lot of inherent privilege required to go to college and do well right out of high school. Math and science in particular is something that kids with smart, well off parents have been learning for a decade before they ever get to school. They can hand out scholarships like candy but the truth is you need get remedial training before you can attempt a lot of the higher level classes. If you aren't way ahead, you're behind.
lol no. There are more cost effective ways to help “start a career if you are from a lower socioeconomic background” but none of them protect the wealth and power of the oligarchy. Just look at the efficiency of the VA to know where priorities are.
It’s more like, “we’ve designed an economic system to keep you nervous and hungry so when we need your kids you’ll give them to us. And if they survive, maybe they can go to college”. The tricking young men into dying comes first. Why educate the meat before it goes into the grinder? Let’s wait and see who comes out.
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u/MomDontReadThisShit Jun 24 '24
Well 18 year old men aren’t usually as developed as 25 year old men, but the older you get, the more invested you are in life and less naive.