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Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Kent Fletcher, an Iraq war veteran, says he enthusiastically voted for President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Now, he is a registered Democrat who questions the need for the war, the way it has been managed and the treatment of returning veterans.
``Saddam Hussein wasn't a threat and the culmination of my career was that war and it wasn't necessary,'' says Fletcher, 32, a financial analyst in Bluffton, South Carolina, who served almost 10 years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Military Families Question Iraq War as Support for Bush Slips - Yahoo! News (broken link)
All of my friends in the military disagree with the war. Many of them joined either right after 9/11 or around the time when we went into Afghanistan while the whole country was more or less on a wave of patriotism and support. But Iraq? Coming from a heavily military, conservative town, it's amazing that I cannot find one person I went to high school with who joined the army who support this war. Even (and perhaps especially) my friends at the academies say there's a large amount of unrest, especially at West Point. :\
What I think is the worst is that so many of the military does not remember when the leadership of this country was decent. The military is mostly made up of younger men and women in their late teens and early 20s, so most don't remember any further back than the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I grew up in a very anti-Reagan, anti- Bush I home, but even my parents admitted that they were decent role models... Clinton might have fallen under that label at first but ended up blowing it, as much as I love what he does now.
So much of the young military doesn't really remember a time when this country was respected across the world. Sure, we had some problems, but I don't think there was ever this much disapproval. I respect that they still joined the military under these conditions- many people wouldn't and won't. And it's sad that there's really not a single respectable person running in the primaries who will bring America back up to where it once was. Maybe I'll be surprised, but between Whitewatergate (the first thing I remember watching on TV as a little kid about Bill Clinton), NAFTA, Monica Lewinsky, Iraq, and just the overall lack of confidence in Bush's character, it's hard to imagine a GOOD, DECENT president. And that's a resounding sound coming out of my generation- who have we had to look up to?
My experiences with your generation, in general, demonstrates that they depend on deriving their information about world event much too much from entertaining internet sites and hollywood. Good news is NOT usually good entertainment. Supporting or even believing anyone is government is not fashionable, to a large extent because of Bill Clinton and his direct finger-pointing lie to U.S. citizens, with his subsequent lying to a grand jury. I'm very involved with my children, who seem to be about your age, and I hear these misperceptions that they've learned from others their age, from their music, and from celebrities. Even my son, who is in the Army, receives inaccurate propaganda from his military buddies.
In summary, I feel that too many of your generation are too lazy or too busy with their Wii's and/or Ipods to research and find out what all of the facts are related to a particular event or person.
My experiences with your generation, in general, demonstrates that they depend on deriving their information about world event much too much from entertaining internet sites and hollywood. Good news is NOT usually good entertainment. Supporting or even believing anyone is government is not fashionable, to a large extent because of Bill Clinton and his direct finger-pointing lie to U.S. citizens, with his subsequent lying to a grand jury. I'm very involved with my children, who seem to be about your age, and I hear these misperceptions that they've learned from others their age, from their music, and from celebrities. Even my son, who is in the Army, receives inaccurate propaganda from his military buddies.
In summary, I feel that too many of your generation are too lazy or too busy with their Wii's and/or Ipods to research and find out what all of the facts are related to a particular event or person.
Well said Amazin. It is troubling that people hold entertainers and celebrities in such high regard. Many times they are the mouthpiece of the left.
What kinds of misperceptions are you talking about?
My friends and myself read the New York Times and Wallstreet Journal daily (to try to get a bit of a balance.. each are going to have their slants). We've read the 9/11 Commission Report. I personally read policy and read books from the left and right on most issues. My friends in the military academies have some of the world's greatest minds teaching them and are all extremely talented people and read quite a bit as well.
I'm not saying that every 19 or 20 year old reads as much as I do, but I do think the internet has allowed a greater amount of people access to a greater amount of information. Like, you can read the New York Times and a range of other international papers for free from your computer be it in Boston or Bagdad. We don't have to get our information for right wing talk radio or sensationalist TV news- we can go right down to the source- especially since so many news websites are now found in translation.
My experiences with your generation, in general, demonstrates that they depend on deriving their information about world event much too much from entertaining internet sites and hollywood. Good news is NOT usually good entertainment. Supporting or even believing anyone is government is not fashionable, to a large extent because of Bill Clinton and his direct finger-pointing lie to U.S. citizens, with his subsequent lying to a grand jury. I'm very involved with my children, who seem to be about your age, and I hear these misperceptions that they've learned from others their age, from their music, and from celebrities. Even my son, who is in the Army, receives inaccurate propaganda from his military buddies.
In summary, I feel that too many of your generation are too lazy or too busy with their Wii's and/or Ipods to research and find out what all of the facts are related to a particular event or person.
Well there forum member, people might believe the government if it wasn't constantly being caught lying, twisting the truth, dodging facts, etc... The notion of laying this all on Bill Clinton is ludicrous and you durn well know it. Lying is the one single thing that has been perfected by government and raised to the level of an art form. Lies know no party affiliation, just like its counterpart, greed.
Oh, and I am sure it is all the younger generations fault, all those techno gizmonics, like phones, electricity, education, cartoons, cars and working only 40 hours instead of 60, distracting them from what... YOUR perspective of how the world should be?
In case anyone hasn't been paying attention, have the latest White House lies and daily scandals downloaded to your I-pod daily.
Last edited by TnHilltopper; 12-07-2007 at 07:15 AM..
An amazing leap from questioning the Iraq War (read invasion) to young folks are not educated about the news, and their poor choices are directly linked to a former President.
My opinion widely differs from yours, and I find that more young people are taking voting seriously. Perhaps the 18 and overs will make or break our next national election.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amaznjohn
My experiences with your generation, in general, demonstrates that they depend on deriving their information about world event much too much from entertaining internet sites and hollywood. Good news is NOT usually good entertainment. Supporting or even believing anyone is government is not fashionable, to a large extent because of Bill Clinton and his direct finger-pointing lie to U.S. citizens, with his subsequent lying to a grand jury. I'm very involved with my children, who seem to be about your age, and I hear these misperceptions that they've learned from others their age, from their music, and from celebrities. Even my son, who is in the Army, receives inaccurate propaganda from his military buddies.
In summary, I feel that too many of your generation are too lazy or too busy with their Wii's and/or Ipods to research and find out what all of the facts are related to a particular event or person.
Or you could just ask the military and their families. That is another way to get the "news".
You think they would be "happy" sending their loved ones over multiple times to risk getting blown up to secure some peace between tribal factions that they could give a damn about half a world away?
Would you?
Thi isn't even news. It is a bit less difficult to blindly support something when you don't have any personal skin in the game.
And I agree that now that people can get on the Internet and read opinions and viewpoints from all around the world, insread of gettging fed the same BS from the same talking heads every night, people are able to make their own opinions today a bit more easily about what is really the truth.
Last edited by bily4; 12-07-2007 at 07:22 AM..
Reason: changed modifier
An amazing leap from questioning the Iraq War (read invasion) to young folks are not educated about the news, and their poor choices are directly linked to a former President.
My opinion widely differs from yours, and I find that more young people are taking voting seriously. Perhaps the 18 and overs will make or break our next national election.
One good indicator of how the military personnel feel is how they are donating to Presidential campaigns and we all know who gets the most. Shocking that he is anti-war, huh.
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