Seeing the World

I had coffee today with a few men friends and, through a twist in the conversation, the subject of the draft arose. For some reason we started talking about our youth and significant things that happened at that time which affected the rest of our lives. A common thread was being drafted into the military. While just about all of us are relative pacifists, all but me had served time in the armed forces. They were all lucky enough to have served in comparative peace time, but serve they did.

One of the things it did for them was expose them to a world beyond their neighborhood. They were exposed to different cultures (both foreign and domestic) and a way of organizing a work force. This exposure was not restricted to the guys alone; their parents were well aware that their children were at risk because the nation was at war.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It would have been nice if steps had been taken to move from our militarism to a more peaceful approach to others, but, at least, the soldiers, their families and friends knew that risks were being taken for our nation. In these days of the professional army, who is really aware of the full costs of our militarism? How many soldiers do you know? Are your children in the military?