Link:
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0504,k ... 395,6.html


-Eva

Michael Moore pegged that one just right, didn't he, Eva, in Farenheit 9/11?

There are many parents going up against this, and it will become more evident as the war in Iraq continues to deteriorate, and if Bush and his war hawks invade anywhere else.

I"ll find some links to the parent story asap...and bring them back here.

Good information...for anyone who knows a young person about 16 or older!

Catherine

Catherine,
I remember from Fahrenheit 911, the scene where the recruiters were scoping out parking lots in poor area's looking for young kids. It's so sad!! Some of these kids see a way to make some money, get a free college education and don't realize that they are being taken advantage of. That their own lives are at stake.
I don't know if you have seen the HBO special"Last Letters Home" about the last letters from fallen Iraqi GI's. That really brings the message home.
One GI (who was only 22 himself) wrote about the other kids in his unit. They were only about 18 years old, the kinds of kids you would normally see in malls playing video games and here they were fighting in Iraq - it's just too much!! Also, in this documentary you get to see the families of the fallen GI's and their stories.
I think the American public needs to see more of this, along with the stories of the wounded.. I have a hard time dealing with the fact that healthy kids are coming back missing limbs, knowing more about prosthetics than the average person should know.
Also, Michael Moore's book -" Will They Ever Trust Us Again?" is another must read about what war from the eyes of GI's (and family memebers) who have served or are serving in Iraq and Arfghanistan.
-Eva

It was hard enought to watch F/911, Eva. My own son had been duped in the same way. He didn't have to join the Army to get a college education, but he thought the Army was going to let him see the world, and perhaps prepare him to do better in college. He didn't feel "mature" enough for college..isn't that a hoot? Too immature for college but not too immature to die fighting a politicians' war...and in my state, you have to be 21 to buy a frigging drink of alchohol...isn't that a scream? Too young to manage alchohol but not too young to carry weapons and die in agony thousands of miles from your home before you've ever lived. God, I hate this bloody war.

I agree that the general public needs to see the great treasure that is being thrown away...our young people, all for these jacklegged bastards to have their big parties, their power, and their oil. But any family that has known why their child joined the military, those things are just too painful...do you ever see a rich kid in the military? It's a rarity, to be sure.

Maybe someday I will read the book you mentioned...I want to, but not now. Too, too painful.

Catherine