I didn't sign up for this.

Saturday night I was watching Off to War on the Discovery Times channel. This is a documentary that chronicles an engineering company and their families back home, as they get deployed to Iraq. This has been a really good show, and I have enjoyed every episode immensely. There was something in the newest episode that I saw that bothered me though. This is something I have been noticing more and more lately, both in the media and in real life. It is the “Poor me, I didn’t sign up for this” attitude that a lot of Soldiers/Marines/Sailors/Airmen seem to be having lately. Well, not a lot, it just seems that way because they are the only ones ever talking to the media (I expect that everyone else who doesn’t feel that way is busy doing their jobs.) I see it a lot, in this particular case, it was a bunch of guardsmen whining about “only signing up for one weekend a month, two weeks a year.” Throughout the series you hear soldiers saying, “I did not sign up for this” or “We weren’t trained to handle this.” My question is: Could the media please seek out members of the armed services who are proud of what they are doing, and understand the inherent risks with putting on the uniform?

With the release of the movie Jarhead coming out, it just compounds the disgruntled soldier image. Now, I have not read this book, just the jacket and reviews on Amazon. I have no intention if seeing this movie, and am saddened by the fact that no one can seem to make a decent movie about the Marines (Full Metal Jacket excluded). The other night I was in Borders getting my MLA Handbook for Research Writers, and Matt was looking for Bing West’s newest book. We were looking through the military section and the gulf war subsection. Almost every book in there was written by or about soldiers who were pissed about being solders. It was depressing. I was an active duty soldier, and am now a national guardsman. I am deeply proud of both. Yes, there are times when it sucks worse than most people could ever imagine. Yes, there is a high likelihood of getting killed or badly wounded, and yes, there is about a 100% chance that you will get told to do something that you do not want to do. So help me God, I am going to freak if I hear one more member of the Armed Forces spout off “I only signed up for the college money.” I can tell you that there are many, many cheaper ways to pay for education. I am just baffled by the large number (or at least it seems that way) of people in the military who think that it is not their job to go off to fight at the whim of the Commander In Chief. The second a person raises their right hand and says,

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the
orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers
appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military
Justice. So help me God.

they release all rights that they have as a U.S. citizen. Something a person must understand about the military is that it doesn’t require a democracy to protect one.

Which brings me to the point of this ranting. Our great nation is doomed. Not because of corrupt politicians. Not because of communism. Not because of terrorists. Not because of a poor economy, but because of the large majority of its citizens. Our country is filled with people who are more concerned with themselves, and what is in it for them, than whether or not our nation will survive another century. But fear not faithful readers, I have a solution. It is not a comfortable one; in fact it is downright painful for most. It is, however, extremely simple. Mandatory national service. Note I said “National service” not “military service.” There is something like 50 nations that have conscription, or a draft of some sort with varying requirements. My plan is an easy one, at least in theory. Every legal citizen who turns 18, at time of graduation from high school, must join one of the available national service programs. The term is two years, during which time the individual will wear some sort of uniform, live in a barracks style environment, and be responsible for obeying all laws set forth by the mandatory national service doctrine that would be drafted up. No pun intended

I am sure that by now there are a whole bunch of people who are disagreeing with me, and saying that not everyone can take part, and that it violates a persons’ rights. Wrong and wrong. Why? First off, because this is my blog and I am always right on it. Secondly, there is no reason why someone cannot participate in this, unless they are severely mentally or physically disabled. What I have in mind is a large portion of people would join the armed forces. But a lot of people could also join one of many national work programs building houses, neighborhoods, national parks, and roads. The main point here, is that young Americans would be required to do something meaningful before they could take part in American society. I feel that what would come of this, is a less selfish nation of people who were involved in something bigger than themselves. As far as violating a person’s rights goes, rights only mean squat if there are people to protect them. Certain inalienable rights does not include exemption from having to serve the country that provides those rights.

So anyway, I will get off my little soapbox for the meantime. This is going to be the topic of my next writing assignment. I am still compiling data. If you look to the far right of the page, I have a new poll. You guessed it … It has to do with mandatory national service. Also, if you want to read accurate accounts of the war on terror in Iraq, just click the Michael Yon button to the right.