Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadoWarrior
Starship Troopers is one of Heinlein's finest works, IMO, and deservedly won the Hugo award in 1960. Its messages still resonate over 50 years later.
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I agree. I especially appreciate his thesis that the people who are best fit to run the State are the ones who put their lives on the line in service of the State. Character outweighs capability.
I'm sick to death of American chickenhawks who couldn't be bothered to serve when they were young, then become warmongers after they are too old to participate. "We need to go get them Iranian/Muslims/terrorists/bad people/foreign nationals" when there's no "we" about it. I'm sick to death of Americans whose idea of citizenship is limited to the grudging payment of taxes. If only folks who had completed national service (not limited to the military) voted or could hold office, American politics would shift somewhat to the Right, but at least everyone in Congress would have similar experiences. They'd be able to sit down around a table with mutual respect for each other and the knowledge that everyone there had a commitment to the nation's best interests.