Would things change if the white middle-class sectors, failed to remain unaffected by the War in Iraq?

Question

Neoliberalism is the grammar of politics in most parts of the globe and induces an institutionalized apathy. Imaginative, nonviolent guerrilla antiwar actions seem to be the only solution.

Answer 1

Anytime the "White middle-class sector," which is generally considered to be the primary voting population of the country, is affected by anything those things begin to change.

Institutionalized apathy arises when the price for acting appears greater than the cost of not acting. Once the "white middle class" is being adversely affected enough, the cost of acting is no longer less than the cost of not acting. Only then is sufficient pressure applied to motivate change (though not always meaningful or positive change).

Answer 2

The bulk of the military is from the middle and upper-middle class. That's a fact.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/cda05-08.cfm

Who Bears the Burden? Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Recruits Before and After 9/11
by Tim Kane, Ph.D.
Center for Data Analysis Report #05-08

...Our analysis of the demographic composition of enlisted recruits vis-à-vis the general population considers the following characteristics:

Household income,
Level of education,
Race/ethnicity, and
Region/rural origin.

...Household Income of Recruits

We found that recruits tend to come from mid­dle-class areas, with disproportionately fewer from low-income areas.

...Education Levels of Recruits

We find that, on average, recruits tend to be much more highly educated than the general pub­lic and that this education disparity increased after the war on terrorism began.

...Racial Representation Among Recruits

We found that whites are one of the most pro­portionally represented groups?making up 77.4 percent of the population and 75.8 percent of all recruits.

...Regional Analysis

The constant increase in the recruit/population ratio contradicts the assertion that military recruit­ing targets youth in inner cities. In fact, entirely urban areas are the area most underrepresented among recruits. Both suburban and rural areas are overrepresented.

...The South is overrepresented among military recruits. It provided 42.2 percent of 1999 recruits and 41.0 percent of 2003 recruits but contained just 35.6 percent of the population ages 18 to 24. How­ever, other regions also provide a higher proportion of enlistees. The states with the highest enlistment propor­tional ratings by far are Mon­tana (1.67), Alaska (1.42), Wyoming (1.40), and Maine (1.39).


Conclusion

A large shift in public opinion about the desir­ability of a military draft occurred in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Most Ameri­cans instinctively rallied to the flag and wanted to do everything to protect the nation. As a result, the draft became one of the issues that received renewed emotional support. Support eroded in succeeding polls, as evidenced by the fact that 70 percent of Americans currently oppose reinstate­ment of the draft. This sentiment is especially strong among the young.

We know that the Pentagon strongly prefers a voluntary force. However, support for a draft will likely surge again if, or when, America suffers addi­tional terrorist attacks. Emotion and reason agree on the necessity of defeating terrorism, but reason demands that the conflict be fought as effectively as possible, and that may require policymakers to resist popular calls for a draft.

This paper reviews the demographic status of the all-volunteer military and refutes the claim that enlisted troops are underprivileged and come from underprivileged areas. In terms of education, household income, race, and home origin, the troops are more similar than dissimilar to the gen­eral population.

Put simply, the current makeup of the all-vol­untary military looks like America. Where they are different, the data show that the average sol­dier is slightly better educated and comes from a slightly wealthier, more rural area. We found that the military (and Army specifically) included a higher proportion of blacks and lower propor­tions of other minorities but a proportionate num­ber of whites. More important, we found that recruiting was not drawing disproportionately from racially concentrated areas.

Perhaps more could be done to dismantle the claim that an all-volunteer military relies dispro­portionately on ignorant, black, poor, urban young citizens in America, but the evidence already clearly shows this claim to be hollow.

Nevertheless, the Army is facing a shortage of new recruits for the recruiting year that ended in September. The shortage is minor?about 7,000 less than the goal of 80,000 new recruits?in a mil­itary with over 1 million members, but it will fuel ongoing calls for a military draft. Policymakers should remember that recruiting was also difficult in 1999 (when the economy was strong), but not so difficult in 2002?2004, in the immediate wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The Department of Defense reported 352,839 appli­cants for active component enlistment in fiscal year 2003, and it accepted 176,408.[9]

Logically, this suggests that if terrorists strike America again, young Americans will be more? not less?willing to volunteer for military service. We can also anticipate that successful terrorist attacks will result in a resurgence of popular sup­port for a draft. All Americans hope that day will never come, but if it does, Congress needs to remain steadfast in opposing coerced conscription and expose the myths of racial and class exploita­tion in military recruiting.

Answer 3

I am white and middle class, and im affected by the war just like everyone else. Im paying the same amount for gas as you are. stop acting like that is a race and culture thing. Evryone is affected. JACK A S S!!!!!!!!!!!!