If 9/11 changed everything--and seemingly it has changed the way in which Executive Power is wielded in this country--then it has also changed the way in which the U.S. military can be used.
I've been in a discussion today with a person whose son attends one of the military academies, which long have been seen as avenues to leadership and upward mobility for good students from modest families. I think this now has to stop. Parents should encourage their sons and daughters to look elsewhere.
Where I live, ROTC pays for many students' college educations. They see their participation in the military as the best route out of an impoverished semi-rural area, and are willing to spend a few years in active service as officers in order to pay for that. I think this line of thinking also has to stop.
I would rather pay a lot more in taxes, or have my state use more money from its surplus to fund college education, rather than have young people participate in today's military, for several reasons. I would rather see programs like the WPA and the CCC--demand-side jobs programs--than funnel armies of the unemployed into the military branches.
Why do I think that today's military is a flawed project?
- Today's soldiers and sailors are putting their lives and limbs on the line without the protection that they need. Today's military is turning out a hundreds of amputees and victims of head injuries for whom life will be a constant trial. Ask yourself if you really think the government support will be there for those kids down the line. What will they do for the rest of their lives when Social Security is privatized? What will their families do?
- Today's military is nothing more than the long arm of an immoral president. Ask yourself if the invasion of Iran isn't coming next.
- All of us on Dkos saw the pictures of Iraqi babies with bodies burned and limbs amputated, the "collateral damage" of this war without end. No matter why you think you are enlisting, if you participate in this immoral project, you have just as much responsibility for the outcome as does the commander in chief. As we all remember from the Second World War, "I was just following orders" is no excuse.