anyway, what i mean about a class problem in the military is that the military is set up right now so that it is an appealing option to people of the lower and lower middle class. it has also been said that the service is the greatest equal opportunity employer in the u.s., making it more desirable for minorities.
i imagine if you take a quick survey of your collegues you will find that there are not many who chose to go into service after completing a four year university.
my point is not that joining the service is an uneducated decision, but that people with 4 year degrees are usually in higher wage earning opportunities than those without.
in the same vein, people don't commonly leave white collar jobs to volunteer in the armed forces.
as a result, when we go to war, the people fighting are disproportionately lower and lower middle class, and minorities. and i see that as a problem.
i am not saying folks go into the service for big bucks, but i am saying i doubt there are a lot of soldiers you work with who passed up $100,000/year or even $50,000/year salaries to join the army.
i speculate that a lot of people sign up largely because it's a way to get your education paid for. that has been the case for the people i have met, at least.
anyway, my problem is ultimately that the people who benefit the least from the nation's prosperity (lower class families) are asked to make the biggest sacrifice to maintain the way of life we all enjoy. and i don't just mean our freedom, which i tend to feel was safer without the current joker in the big house, but oil and territory and all of that stuff.
