Why is it that everyone is patriotic until a recruiter calls their home??

Question

Everyday I get the I appreciate what you are doing for our country and I see the support your troops bumber stickers but let me call a kid who requested information on the military and i get the "go to hell" response or the typical "not while bush is in office"

So I'm now looking fo the sticker that really reads "Support your troops because my son/daughter is too good to join"

Ok that may be a little harsh but true unfortunately :(

Everyday I get the I appreciate what you are doing for our country and I see the support your troops bumber stickers but let me call a kid who requested information on the military and i get the "go to hell" response or the typical "not while bush is in office"

So I'm now looking fo the sticker that really reads "Support your troops because my son/daughter is too good to join"

Ok that may be a little harsh but true unfortunately :(

Answer 1

Thats totally not true, I know me and ten of my friends can't wait until we're old enough to join, we've all been talking to recruiters for months now, but we're only sixteen, so a few more years and all of us are gonna join either the Marines or the Army.

Answer 2

I always hated recruiters calling my house. When a recruiter called me I would tell them never to call my house again. I wanted to be something other than a pawn in a game I didn't understand. Why the hell would I want to be a part of a group that has to risk their life over some BS I didn't even agree with us getting involved in? College was a much better choice for me. I'm sure that at least some of the thousands of lives lost in Iraq had parents that wished that they would have said no as well. I love the fact I have a degree, love the fact that I am doing my thing here and haven't been killed by someone that was unhappy that I was in their country. Especially since we shouldn't be there. I love the USA, but I have better things to do with my life than stand on the front line for Bush. Why do you want to get these kids to go into the military instead of college anyway?

Answer 3

There are too many people who are willing to support whatever they believe will make their lives better, but are too d@mn selfish or lazy to work for it. I believe that is the only true answer. Your country should be like a wife, if you love, and cherish her, be prepared to fight to keep her!



And to the sarge who made the time out comment, that doesn't happen anymore, it was a pansy-@$$ idea in the first place and didn't last long before it was scrapped. I've been to basic training, and I didn't get an easy go of it. We weren't what I would call abused, but a lot of the actions taken by my drill sergeants were technically against regulation. We were taught to believe in ourselves as soldiers and that if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. That's how those piss-ants being ruled by tyrants got into their position in the first place, they greatly out number the dictators, but go along with his plans to rule out of fear. If the masses would rise up, like ants on a wasp, they would have control of their own fate. For your own service, I thank you, and have a deep respect for your sacrifices.

Answer 4

I served my country for a term, I think that any able bodied person who lives in the USA should at least for a few years. Unfortunately alot of young kids who are joining today are doing it because it "pays for college and there are big bonus's for joining up". All wrong reasons ...if they are your only reason for joining. I joined up 14 years ago and there wasn't any of that, you just did it because you wanted to. I think the same way, what makes their kid any more special than my kid? What makes them any more special than me? We all live here, and enjoy our freedoms, yet when it comes down to it??
I can understand being scared and all, I get that really I do, but somebody has to do it. Whether we believe the reasoning is right or wrong for the wars. I thank God for the people who have decided to serve, if it wasn't for these folks we'd be screwed...and drafted, then nobody would have a choice. I'd be proud of my daughters if they decided to join up...sure I'd be scared for them, but it's still their choice. I won't pretend its not important. The young men and women who join up to serve their country will always have more respect from me than the ones who go off to college on mommy and daddy's dime.

The thing that pisses me off about recruiters though, and not to say you've done it but they tell half truths. Mine lied to me, made me take a job I would hate, instead of telling me that I could have had the job I wanted had I waited a few months to a year, but SHE had to make quota. Now that was MESSED up, and I'm being nice by using that word! If my daughters decide to join you bet my husband and my happy behinds will be going with her so we can make sure she doesn't get screwed. If that recruiter has to wait a few months to make quota or whatever then they'll just have to deal, its pretty crappy to me to make some young kid feel guilty about taking some crappy job so the recruiter can make quota in time. Sure hope that doesn't describe you!

Answer 5

To support one's country is a hell of a lot easier than to serve one's country, personally I politely tell the recruiters there isn't enough money in the US Federal Reserve to make me join up, but keep in mind I am a veteran myself, in 17 days I will have served my time (8 years) active and in the IRR, AND to top it off my husband is still in the military, active duty, and has another 6 years to his contract. I "serve" my country by being a military spouse, which I think is very important, but I will equally support my spouse when he wishes to get out of the military. Joining up for me was NOT a patriotic thing, I felt no sense of need to serve my country, and I felt no honor in it either. It was a job, a way to pay the bills, see the world and get away from a bad situation. SO if you are a recruiter looking for ways to recruit people into the military, don't count on people's patriotism to get you new recruits, count on desparation, the need for adventure, the need for change, or something stable to use as enticements. I fully support the military and anyone who serves in it (I know best the sacrifices these men and women make) but you couldn't ask me to do it myself, that doesn't make me unpatriotic. THAT is my reasoning, I'm sure others have theirs, some people are not able to serve in the military (health or other issues) some people just know that the military is NOT for them, our military is NOT our country, it only serves and protects our country and given the mixed feelings about the current "war" it's no wonder a recruiter might have a hard time enticing people who have heard nothing but negative things about this war. Unfortunately (according to my husband who IS currently serving in Iraq) people don't hear about all the good we are doing over there. And as Americans we have the RIGHT to disagree, the right not to like what our president has decided, a right to think that politics of the government are not correct. If you don't agree with the war, or what the president has done then no you're not likely to want to join a military and participate in a war you don't agree with (you're also not likely to sign up if your a chicken and are afraid of the CHANCE of dying, no sin in that, people ARE dying over there). ALSO you have to look at the military lifestyle, I'm going to guess you are IN the military, so you know the stories, you know how serving the military is hard on families, hard on marriages, and I believe regardless of whether there is any truth in it, you have heard the "statistics" about military divorce rates being higher than the "civilian" divorce rates. Plus you, serving in the military, also know how unenticing the pay is (my husband is an E6, until recently we have qualified for government assistance, food stamps, and WIC, those are supposed to be for the POOR, the unemployed, the unfortunate, not those who fight and die for their country) you can't tell me that someone hearing that would want that for themselves or for their families. I'm not saying being in the military is a bad deal, but it DOES have a reputation for being underpaid (what the average person who makes minimum wage at McD's doesn't understand is there are many benefits like housing allowance and paid medical benefits etc that make up for it). There are many reasons people don't want to be soldiers and some ARE because deep down Americans are spoiled brats who take for granted the opportunities and luxuories we have here in America, try booting those people out to a different country to live for a while and I guarentee they will all come back with a re-newed sense of patriotism. That doesn't mean they will fight and die for their belief in the American way of life.

Answer 6

i was promised the world and got nothing but a three year term! i'm not complaining. i whole heartedly believe all americans should do at least 3 yrs in the military.



as for the cowards who request the info and the retreat, they are too scared to stand up and be men/women. take it with a grain of salt. of 89 students in my graduating class the military only got 5 including myself. of those who said oh yeah sign me up. 2 actually left for boot camp including myself. so i say good luck.

Answer 7

Ask Dick Cheney. He got 5 deferrments from Vietnam but was one of the first to decide OTHER people's sons and daughters should go to Iraq. Both a warhawk and a chickenhawk. You can't make this stuff up...sources are listed below.

Answer 8

I think America needs to reinstate the draft. How about this: If you volunteer, you can do so for a two year stint. But if drafted, it is three years.

I will probably get a lot of flack for this comment, but we need to get America's military back up to snuff. It has dwindled down to bare bones during the Clinton years. We can defend her now on our own accord, or sit around and gripe about it, then let our grandchildren fight to get her back. Think about it.

Answer 9

I got it from my own parents 27 years ago. I enlisted in reponse to the Iran Hostage Crisis.

I tried to get back in for this one, (didn't pass the medical) and still got the same narrow minded responses from friends and family. It defies logic. Sunshine patriots I guess.

I wish I could go and send somebody on their 4th tour home.
Semper Fi.

Answer 10

They may listen to Rush Limbaugh and wave the flag, but just like him, they are chickenshits. This is from a 10 year Navy Submarine Sailor.