State Sponsored Violence: An Option
The US Armed Forces represent a terrific option for those who are unsure about their future. The Army can pay for college and offer substantial financial support, making it an attractive possibility. The Army has a lot to offer:
The strength, training and salary you earn as a Soldier in the Army are only a fraction of the overall benefits. The Army also offers money for education, comprehensive health care, generous vacation time, family services and support groups, special pay for special duties and cash allowances to cover the cost of living. -www.goarmy.com
Is that fair? Let the army offer any deal they wish. Deals and offers made by the armed forces for the benefit of the enlisted man/woman are not the draft. Nobody is being impressed into service; men and women enlist because they want to, not because they have to. I fail to see any that anything unjust is involved here. Of course it is likely that the lower-middle class will be the one to find it’s way to the recruitment office, but that’s because they find the Army’s offers beneficial and attractive. The Army simply cannot afford to offer benefits that will motivate the rich to fight. The upper classes can afford college already. If you, my dear reader, are disturbed by poor men in the Government’s Army, then it’s because you respond to war in a visceral manner, not in a rational one (not that I blame you in the least).
