Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Interesting comment of yours: Poor parents drive children to the military.

Coming to a room with 9/10ths of the US leadership...
SDAI-Tech1 — (archived)

..with a protest shirt on and not expecting to be arrested is the sign of being an idiot - or feeling empowered by her new leftist exploitation buddies.

In Sheehan's case it's probably both.

The military are made up of all classes and from all backgrounds. Saying I disrespect the military just because I realize Sheehan's motivations is ridiculous. Lots of kids sign up to get away from dysfunctional parentage and families. Lots more sign up to get training and for the money. Only 10% probably enlist due to strictly ideological or political desires. That doesn't mean one dismisses the other 90%.

Schools attract folks who have all sorts of motivations too: Qualify for better jobs, make more money, increase self-worth and, yes, maybe 10% enroll only to enhance their education & knowledge base. Again no need to dismiss the other 90 percent's educational pursuits just because of "impure" motivations.

So we see motivation varies for participation in all sorts of things.

In Casey Sheehan's case, I would say her son knew how to get his mom's attention - and how to successfully 'protest' her beliefs and highlight his own.

Sure we can ride along Tom's train and say he enlisted entirely independently of any consideration of his mother's beliefs and ideology, but that wouldn't change her reaction if she feels she let her son down in some way.

Her method of dealing with grief is just one type of escape mechanism. It's no worse than any other, except it insults her son's intelligence and maturity by calling him, for all intents and purposes, a dupe.

She's still just thinking about herself. She's a handful of pathos fit for any Greek tragedy.

And like most Greek tragedies it is both sad, funny, and evokes all sorts of emotional responses outside the norm.

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