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Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
This starts with a story about my little brother. He wanted to join the military as a younger kid. I responded by telling him that I would lock him in a basement or a closet until he was 25 if he tried.
I meant every word with all my heart.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My brother has made friends with a guy that was in the Marine corps for a while. He comes from a military family and seems like the kind of guy that the military is right for. When my brother brought up what I'd told him, the guy asked me about my stance on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My thing with my younger brother joining the Armed Forces was always that he doesn't have the nature for it. He doesn't hold up well under pressure, has a very rigid moral code, and is just an all around sensitive kid.
I mentioned that he doesn't really have the nature for that sort of thing. This guy countered that it was really just about him being immature and that the Armed Forces would teach him discipline (an undeniable fact, I will give him that). He continued on in a rant about me just being overprotective because it's my baby brother.
My reply was straight to the point. I told him that it wasn't about immaturity. It was about the fact that I knew the kid doesn't have the nature to be molded into a person who could kill children and still remain halfway sane and functional. I told him that the fact that I know my brother doesn't have that ability even though he's a very young male makes me extremely proud.
My view is that having that level of conscientiousness and empathy is something to be proud of, especially in a young guy of his generation. I think it's important that such maturity is respected.
More so, I think it's important that it's recognized that there are certain people that are just not cut out for the military. It really disturbs me that this military guy was really disrespectful of that idea and just brushed it off as immaturity.
I mean, seriously, does the portion of American society that has been in the military really think that everybody (well, everybody with a penis) is cut out for the American military? Surely not.edit on 8-4-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
I mean, seriously, does the portion of American society that has been in the military really think that everybody (well, everybody with a penis) is cut out for the American military? Surely not.edit on 8-4-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
My brother doesn't have the nature for the military to help him maximize who he is as a person. I recognize that it does help some folks, but some people just simply do not have the nature for it. I mean, some people are just too sensitive for that kind of brutal training.edit on 8-4-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
I mean, seriously, does the portion of American society that has been in the military really think that everybody (well, everybody with a penis) is cut out for the American military? Surely not.edit on 8-4-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)