Why did you join the Navy, James. Did you grow up in a poor underprivileged 
uneducated single-parent minority household with no hope for the future so 
you might as well go die for Canada?  This,by the way, sounds like the 
force we're fighting.

John Lee


At 10:54 AM 11/10/06 -0500, James B. Byrne wrote:
>On Thu, November 9, 2006 20:06, Craig Lalley wrote:
> >
>
> >
> > To suggest that those who volunteer for military service are victims of
> > inequality is to devalue their choice to serve, and to treat their
> > chosen line of work as if it has less inherent dignity than being a
> > brain surgeon or even a tech-head.  Your argument, like Kerry's, is
> > actually an elitest one that denies those who serve the respect that is
> > thier due.
> >
> >   -Craig
>
>This sort of sanctimonious claptrap is what leads thousands of young men
>around the world to their deaths each and every year.  To begin with, the
>reasons people choose to serve in their country's military are as varied
>as the individuals themselves. It is also quite beside the point. The
>issue is not what the individual chooses to believe about their personal
>choice.  The issue is what does statistical evidence reveal about social
>and economic conditions with respect to the "choice" of military service.
>
>If one discerns a pattern of over-representation in any public body by
>particular identifiable groups then the question becomes "why?".   Such
>patterns are evident in worldwide military services, and are particularly
>exaggerated in the lower ranks and among combat rather than technical
>troops.  It is therefore a proper question to ask if there are external
>factors acting on some elements of the general population that promotes,
>even if unconsciously, this behaviour.
>
>Further, it is evident from the recent drop off and increased cost of
>recruiting for the U.S. Army that as the perceived risk increases (war vs,
>peace) the entire population has become wary of the benefits of military
>service. The inference drawn from this is that the choice of military
>service is, in the majority of cases, governed by the economic triumvirate
>of cost/benefit/risk and not by mystical appeals to nationalism.
>
>Second, the idea of volunteering only has meaning when the volunteer is
>fully informed and is capable of realization of the true and complete
>implications of their act.  I submit that those under the age of
>twenty-five are in general incapable of granting such fully informed
>consent with respect to military service since they do not appreciate
>fully the value of their own lives.  This inference of a devalued view of
>existence is supported by studies in to high-risk behaviour among juvenile
>human males and is reflected in the high costs of insurance for young male
>drivers and their over-representation in injury and deaths relating to
>accident (males 16 to 24 years of age represent only about 20% of the
>driving population yet account for 35% of traffic fatalities and 50% of
>personal injuries (Macdonald, 1994)).
>
>Third, respect is earned on an individual basis a a result of sustained
>adherence to a publicly acceptable ethic.  Putting on a costume and
>picking up a weapon does not automatically earn either an individual or a
>group the right to my respect (fear perhaps, but not respect).  Service in
>the field under adverse conditions while adhering to the social
>expectations of duty, justice, fairness, and compassion does.  In my
>limited experience, most who choose to serve meet this standard and
>therefore I grant those who are yet untried the benefit of the doubt.
>However, this again is quite beside the point.  The point is that there is
>clear evidence that inequity of opportunity is operative in selecting
>those who choose military service and, in an open and democratic society,
>if permitted to continue does so at the risk of alienating the loyalty of
>those under arms.  This is not a good thing and cannot be addressed by
>denigrating, ignoring or denying the presence of this issue.
>
>
>--
>James B. Byrne                mailto:[log in to unmask]
>Harte & Lyne Limited          http://www.harte-lyne.ca
>9 Brockley Drive              vox: +1 905 561 1241
>Hamilton, Ontario             fax: +1 905 561 0757
>Canada  L8E 3C3
>
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