See, some of my friends have wondered why people sign up for the military.

[conuly]

This is why. Because the military aggressively recruits to teenagers - who, let's face it, are slightly more likely to tend towards the naive side of things. Because it would be un-American to teach kids to weigh commercials and recruiting, or to see when they're being oh-so-subtly coerced. Because the military presents itself as an option - sometimes, they only option - for kids in poor areas, who aren't likely to go to college and probably can't get a good job, not unless they join up.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

I don't have experience, but something that may tip the balance in urban areas is that if you already have friends dying from gang fights or whatnot, then the military doesn't seem as bad. Go to organized war or live with unorganized war...

I really wish everyone had better options. And I agree with the comment about how in many cases the military is the best option available for acquiring various skills - this is why I feel US education needs to improve and expand. We should be giving our kids the ability to learn the job skills they can use. They should not need to risk their lives just to acquire job skills. It should be a right.