I have a very bright and accomplished son who is considering the academies ---and I have to admit very mixed feelings about it that I would not have had 10 years ago. I am still immensely grateful for what this country has meant to my Italian immigrant/ peasant family. I am in awe of where my parents started in life and where I and my si…
I have a very bright and accomplished son who is considering the academies ---and I have to admit very mixed feelings about it that I would not have had 10 years ago. I am still immensely grateful for what this country has meant to my Italian immigrant/ peasant family. I am in awe of where my parents started in life and where I and my siblings are today. Only in America. So when I look backwards it is easy to be patriotic. It’s the present and future that drain it. I fear my son becoming a cog in a perpetual war machine. I resent his future participation in a “Battle of Taiwan” over microchips, and the dependence on them that the greed of our elites enabled. I also see a country that , more and more, sees its own citizens as its biggest threat, and i want my son to have nothing to do with defending that version of the US, which feels the need to censor and repress its own people. In the end I will support him but he will hear from me on everything I see.
Vividly remember the mother at a West Point meeting asking if her very talented and bright son would be exempt from combat. The speaker's jaw hit the floor and the room after a pause erupted into laughter. Our children are bright, talented in sports, and believe in serving their country rather than seeing their ability as an entitlement to be excused from the "icky" part of the military.
My child served as a cog in an eternal war machine. What do you think the military is?! Every drill instructors' job is to make the person, officer or enlisted a cog so that the military machine runs. He serves a dream of America framed by the Constitution and hopes that his tiny cog of service can fulfill this dream. If this is not what inspires and motivates your child, there are many other avenues to pursue.
I guess my point Joanne is I don’t like the way our leaders have used the military lately. Of course I expect him to see combat , I would just hope and pray ir would be in defense of the USA and our true interests ---not 20 year wars built around nation building pipe dreams, or unnecessary adventures. It was a criticism of our political leaders, not the rank and file military that I have tremendous respect for.
Have more mixed feelings than I would have had not that long ago. Never meant to kick you in the teeth. You should be proud of your son and I can only imagine the burden a parent of a child in todays military carries.
My point is that if your child is so "bright and accomplished" and can only act as an individual then they had better stay out of the military. There are a lot of problems in the military and the American foreign policy is ridiculous, but it is such a kick in the teeth to hear and read about children to damn clever to serve their country.
As a parent, there is no country, president, or cause worth any harm coming to my child. My bright and accomplished along with gifted athlete son is a cog in a large machine that insures that others can be too smart to serve their country.
Never said he was too smart to serve. Quite the contrary, Just saying I think he has the chops to get in if he wants it. And if he does, after much thought and discussion, I will support --but will
Good luck whatever decision he makes. Be prepared for the cutting remarks if he goes military because they will happen but know that good cogs influence how a machine runs.
Sees its citizens as its own biggest threats, exactly... We're asking your son to fight for a country that apparently hates its own population. It's a very big ask.
I have a very bright and accomplished son who is considering the academies ---and I have to admit very mixed feelings about it that I would not have had 10 years ago. I am still immensely grateful for what this country has meant to my Italian immigrant/ peasant family. I am in awe of where my parents started in life and where I and my siblings are today. Only in America. So when I look backwards it is easy to be patriotic. It’s the present and future that drain it. I fear my son becoming a cog in a perpetual war machine. I resent his future participation in a “Battle of Taiwan” over microchips, and the dependence on them that the greed of our elites enabled. I also see a country that , more and more, sees its own citizens as its biggest threat, and i want my son to have nothing to do with defending that version of the US, which feels the need to censor and repress its own people. In the end I will support him but he will hear from me on everything I see.
Vividly remember the mother at a West Point meeting asking if her very talented and bright son would be exempt from combat. The speaker's jaw hit the floor and the room after a pause erupted into laughter. Our children are bright, talented in sports, and believe in serving their country rather than seeing their ability as an entitlement to be excused from the "icky" part of the military.
My child served as a cog in an eternal war machine. What do you think the military is?! Every drill instructors' job is to make the person, officer or enlisted a cog so that the military machine runs. He serves a dream of America framed by the Constitution and hopes that his tiny cog of service can fulfill this dream. If this is not what inspires and motivates your child, there are many other avenues to pursue.
I guess my point Joanne is I don’t like the way our leaders have used the military lately. Of course I expect him to see combat , I would just hope and pray ir would be in defense of the USA and our true interests ---not 20 year wars built around nation building pipe dreams, or unnecessary adventures. It was a criticism of our political leaders, not the rank and file military that I have tremendous respect for.
Have more mixed feelings than I would have had not that long ago. Never meant to kick you in the teeth. You should be proud of your son and I can only imagine the burden a parent of a child in todays military carries.
My point is that if your child is so "bright and accomplished" and can only act as an individual then they had better stay out of the military. There are a lot of problems in the military and the American foreign policy is ridiculous, but it is such a kick in the teeth to hear and read about children to damn clever to serve their country.
As a parent, there is no country, president, or cause worth any harm coming to my child. My bright and accomplished along with gifted athlete son is a cog in a large machine that insures that others can be too smart to serve their country.
Never said he was too smart to serve. Quite the contrary, Just saying I think he has the chops to get in if he wants it. And if he does, after much thought and discussion, I will support --but will
Good luck whatever decision he makes. Be prepared for the cutting remarks if he goes military because they will happen but know that good cogs influence how a machine runs.
I feel the same gratitude as an immigrant towards America. 🇺🇸 And the same feelings of loss when it comes to my US-born kids.
Sees its citizens as its own biggest threats, exactly... We're asking your son to fight for a country that apparently hates its own population. It's a very big ask.