Although my goal is not to blog a dead horse (ha-ha), I've been troubled by something that Mr. Chris Hedges said at the Rockford College graduation a while ago. This is the now-infamous speech about how the United States is addicted to war and empire.
The full story is available here, and I'll just quote a little of it here:
Story published May 20, 2003
LOCAL NEWS: Rockford
Text of the Rockford College graduation speech by Chris Hedges
[snip]
We will pay for this, but what saddens me most is that those who will by and large pay the highest price are poor kids from Mississippi or Alabama or Texas who could not get a decent job or health insurance and joined the army because it was all we offered them. For war in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics. Read Antigone, when the king imposes his will without listening to those he rules or Thucydides' history. Read how Athens' expanding empire saw it become a tyrant abroad and then a tyrant at home. How the tyranny the Athenian leadership imposed on others it finally imposed on itself.
[snip]
Now, plenty of people have quibbled with Mr. Hedges' views on the war in Iraq and how this ruined the graduation ceremony for the students and their parents. This is all well and good, Mr. Hedges' speech was probably not what they wanted to hear.
What I'd like to address is his characterization of the members of the US Armed Forces. You see, I had a unique opportunity for someone who wants to observe the character of those who enlist in the military during war time. I enlisted in the Navy and entered boot camp (Company 017, 3rd Division, Naval Recruit Training Center San Diego -- Company Commanders: Petty Officer 1st Class Joons and Chief Petty Officer Smith) on October 23, 1990, during the period leading up to the first Gulf War.
Straight off, Mr. Hedges, I entered the service with a college degree. I had a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in May of 1990 (President Bush 41 spoke). Like most English majors, my job prospects weren't all peaches and cream, but I had a job and an open offer to go into restaurant management at a steakhouse in Austin. Instead, I had always wanted to serve our country and experience the Navy. I had other options to get health insurance (although neither I nor any other young person I've ever met has thought about that). Heck, I even turned down the GI bill. I'm an Ayn Rand devotee and didn't want someone else to support any future school I might attend.
Another fellow UT grad was there in my company. But he had just completed his masters in entemology and decided to put off his doctoral work. His stated reason was "I want to serve my country."
About a quarter or a fifth of my company was Filipino. At that time there was an agreement between the two countries that in exchange for our base at Subic Bay there was an allocation of enlistment spots available to citizens of the Philipines. Before anyone starts thinking about an imperialistic exploitation of Third World labor, you should know this: The program was so highly sought that they were more selective than US recruiters. At the time, every single Filipino recruit had to have a college degree. The guy in the rack above me, Sammy Bacsafra, had a degree in veterinary science. These guys all had other options but thought that the US was the land of opportunity.
The rest of the guys were a cross section of the South (mostly Texas). There were some guys for whom there was little else to do. But lots of the guys had some college, and mostly they partied a lot their freshman year and flunked out. I don't think there's a capitalist conspiracy that caused this, just a bunch of guys who made some bad choices and then tried to make up for it. (There but for the grace of God go I.)
I won't bore you with the details of the rest of my service, suffice it to say that I never met anyone who said they were in the Navy because they had "nowhere else to go."
So Mr. Hedges, you should know that your speech wasn't disagreeable to me because of its anti-war content. I'm anti-war, like everyone else I've ever met in my life. War, in my humble opinion, is a massive violation of the individual rights of an often huge number of people. What you don't seem to able to get your hands around is the fact that sometimes the option of peace is worse than the war option.
Also, much of your speech deals with criticizing mindless patriotism. That's a good point, and by making it you're agreeing with a great President who made that his farewell warning to the American people. You see, you and Ronald Reagan do agree on something.
http://www.presidentreagan.info/speeches/farewell.cfm
One last thought for you Mr. Hedges, those military folks whose motives for joining you denigrate, they're the ones who protect your right to free speech. What was your branch of service?
Wow. Great post. Thank you for your service, and your defense of those who serve and have served.
[06/02/03 11:05 PM] [Posted by David]
Well said. I've served 16 years on active duty thus far and have turned down many "better" offers because I want to serve my country. Some folks just will never get that. Thanks for the great post, I'm linking it!
[06/03/03 02:46 PM] [Posted by Sgt Hook]
Good post, but Hedges has a point. I've been on active duty 15 years. Spent some time in a recruiting squadron, and I've seen the dregs that we let in. It's scary. Yes, there are some who have choices and decide to serve for patriotic reasons. But I feel the vast majority, while maybe not "poor" probably don't have many options. Now, the reason they don't have options is mostly their own fault (poor grades in school, not applying to colleges, drugs, out-of-wedlock children, etc), so I am not absolving them. My estimate is prolly 60/20/20. 60% come in because they have no options. . .20% come in because they want to "see the world," and the other 20% are doing their patriotic duty.
My experience also tells me that military people who claim to have turned down "many better" offers to get out and join the civilian ranks are either crazy or lying. The military has been good to me, but if I had an offer to put down roots with a good job in a good location, well, uncle Sam would just have to get along without me (and he most certainly would).
[06/06/03 12:49 AM] [Posted by Kool Daddy]
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