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Originally Posted by Raellus
There was a really interesting article in TIME magazine a couple of months ago about the U.S. military becoming more insular over the past decade or so. Real wages for members of the military have risen faster than the national average. The proportion of Republicans vs. Democrats currently serving in the U.S. military has been skewing further and further right. The military is currently not a representative cross section of the rest of the country. More military men and women hail from the south and midwest than from other regions. The military is, in effect, one very large red state.
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Sad but very true, but then the military has always had a large percentage of its people come form the West, Mid West and Southern states. And that usually means that the military tends to be a lot more conserative than the rest of the country. Two of the most populous states are NY and CA...and its surprising how few people from those states serve.
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I guess I'm just afraid that Heinlein's political ideal would in fact lead to a martial society and/or fascist or feudalistic state. Any civilization/state in history that has based citizenship/voting rights and office-holding on military service has gone that route, except maybe for Athens.
Instead of military service being a prerequisite for voting rights, make it any public service job- a year in the peace corps, teaching in public schools, working for a free clinic, etc.
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I can live with some form of national service, be it Meals on Wheels, March of Dimes, Habitats for Humanity and so on...right on up to offering to pay the tution for doctors/nurses in return for 6 years in a free clinic. The key point is that as long as the individual contributes to society, than they earn the right to take part in leading that society...
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Hear, hear! This reminds me of the scenes in F911 where Moore acosts Congressmen and asks them if they'd be willing to send their kids to Iraq. IIRC, only one congressman had a kid on active duty in Iraq at the time.
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Hmmmm, intresting question...does Mr. Moore have any children who serve their country? If you can't walk the walk...then shut the f**k up!!!