What difference does it really make?

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by spasmo55

I think what you witnessed was more a result of the on-going civil rights actions and the guilt this country was feeling over Viet-Nam, particularly the disparity in minority numbers serving in that conflict.

I was in during Vietnam so the institutional trauma hadn't really set in yet.

My experiances living in 30 man bays or old "woodies", was just the opposite as we were forced to learn to live with each other and function as a team. You had to give respect to be respected and living that close you could not help but learn about each other as men and you soon realized just how "equal" you were.

I might not have made myself clear. My experience in the military had the effect of confirming me in the belief that we are all brothers and sisters regardless of race or ethnicity. So, our experiences and conclusions were similar.

On the other hand, I know people whose experiences in the military were similar to mine but who came away from the experience with deeply felt racial prejudice. I think that in many cases one's experience in the service can serve to simply reinforce previously held prejudices.

As far as the upper tiers of society serving, I'm not sure how far up you want to go, but you do remember the process to go to the academies and become a "RING Knocker", yes? Other than an occassional token, I am not sure many come from down here in the blue collar trenches, but I do not know the numbers, only the "Ring Knockers" I served under.

I'm not really talking about the "officer class". During the draft all levels of society were represented in the ranks. I lived in a platoon bay with guys who grew up in tenements, mansions and everything in between.

With an all volunteer military you don't get that. Joining the service becomes as much an economic choice as anything else, one made by people with limited options. They see the service as the best option if not a particularly good one.

As far as the AFA and the christian right, I find that less threatening to my existence than I do the "Far Left" infiltrating our secondary education system and churning out liberal lawyers and other educated "leaders of tomorrow" by the bucketload, but that is just me I guess.

Could you expand on that? What's the nature of the threat you see from secondary education?

Verifying what you said, well if I dig enough I can verify it as truth or lie, dependent upon the sources I choose to accept. I prefer to accept it as an opinion of a fellow citizen, and weigh it according to my opinion of your intellect. Whether it is true or not, you beleave it to be true, and if I respect your opinion, then I must give it consideration.

I'd hope you'd do more than just accept what I've written as opinion and try to verify the truth or falsity of it. Otherwise, you're really just sealing yourself off from an opportunity for personal growth and knowledge.

John