Innocence Lost or Taken?
"For this reason, he conjectured, older men could easily fight the coming war, this time sparing the young." (Wartime, P. Fussell, page1 chapter 1)
Doesn't it seem strange that in times of war we rush to get young men all over the country to fight? We get the most inexperienced to take part in what can only be described as the most horrific situation a man can handle.
These young men probably can't drive, likely have never voted, can't legally drink and have barely figured out what it means to be a man; yet we give them a gun and send them off to die in the name of freedom.
It would make more sense to send an older man, an experienced individual, someone that’s been around the block a few times. The older man will likely have common sense,a better understand of the world, and a stricter moral fabric.
Every war brings with it tales of broken men, stories of cowards leaving their men behind on the battle field, or some stupid kid shooting someone he isn’t supposed to. All this is done in the great effort to keep the United States safe from the evil-doers.
But who are the evil ones; those willing to kill in order to take away are freedom or those that are willing to sacrifice the innocent to keep it.
posted by E. Christianson at 3:21 PM
1 Comments:
A very thoughtful post.
I don't see a connection to propaganda & the mass media, but still, a thoughtful post.
World War II was a war that included all ages, we ended up drafting men up to the age of 45, the British drafted men as old as 50 and men as old as 60 were drafted but not sent to the front.
Today many wars are still fought with child soldiers and the American military will accept 17 year olds with their parents permission.
The young are easier to train and shape into fighting soldiers who will obey commands that older men might question.
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