20 January 2009

Moran of the Day: NYT Journalist With Another Hit Piece on the Military

The latest NY Times tripe on the military suggests that people only enlist for a steady cash flow during our recession. Certainly, the promise of a pay-check might tip the scales for some potential recruits in their decision-making process, but just joining the military for financial rewards is a pretty lousy idea. The pay scale for junior enlisted personnel is publicly available, and you can see that an individual would have a much better shot at bringing in the Benjamins if they opened up a roller-disco or something. But that doesn't stop the grey lady from propagating the myth that people only sign up to avoid financial ruin. From the NYT:

Sean D. O’Neil, a 22-year-old who stood shivering outside an Army recruitment office in St. Louis, said he was forgoing plans to become a guitar maker for now, realizing that instruments are seen as a luxury during a recession. Mr. O’Neil, a Texas native, ventured to St. Louis for an apprenticeship but found himself $30,000 in debt. Joining the Army, his Plan B, was a purely financial decision. With President-elect Barack Obama in office, he expects the troop levels in Iraq to be lowered.
This type of reporting in the media leads society to believe that they should not respect the patriotism of the Armed Forces. Because they had "nowhere else to go", young Americans can feel "less guilty" that only a small percentage of folks have chosen to serve. Recruits come into the military for a variety of reasons, but it all becomes moot as everyone is familiarized into the military lifestyle and ethnic/class/political boundaries are broken down as everyone dons the same uniform.

The NYT writer, Lizette Alvarez, has covered the same beat for her journalistic career, always proclaiming the military's troubles. Recently, Old Blue did some outstanding analysis that her gripes with the military have nothing to do with objective reporting, and everything to do with making the current Republican administration look bad. So don't buy into the hype...maybe her articles will quietly go away after The O takes office.

What's disturbing is that imbeciles tend to believe this sort of nonsense that the military is not necessarily patriotic. Take Punk'd star and cougar-hunter Ashton Kutcher, who had this to say at HuffPo:
Today, serving our country no longer simply means drop and give me 20, this is your rifle, defend this land we call home. National service is becoming a term used to define a much broader and equally passionate category of patriotism. This brand of patriotism is inclusive of a pure humanitarian effort guided by the simple virtue of the giving of oneself for the benefit of another in the name of the United States of America.
I am grateful that our nation has some excellent humanitarian workers here and abroad, but Ashton Kutcher isn't exactly Mother Teresa. And his flippant attitude that the military is just about "give me 20" is an embarrassment. It's a sad state of affairs when our nation's cultural elite think driving a hybrid is on par with sacrifices made in the military, but it's the reality we face.

8 comments:

olgreydog7 said...

What can you expect? Who knew that he wasn't really acting when he played Kelso?

Anonymous said...

Maybe the NYT will quietly go away, too...last I heard, they're not expected to survive the year. And, with only a few exceptions, they won't be missed. The same can be said for most media outlets.

Regardless of the fate of journalism and its incompetent and inept reporters, if Obama/BIDEN cannot change the thinking - by anyone - that driving a hybrid is on par with sacrifices made in the military, then no national leader can. And, we can expect that the final return home of the fallen angels who have sacrificed everything will no longer be shrouded in secrecy.

The National Guard can now expect an equal seat at the table of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, too.

Nixon said...

Mexico is looking troublesome...

Bag Blog said...

Isn't Ashton saying that it is NOT about "drop and give me 20"?

olgreydog7 said...

Beth, I think the Guard is represented by the Army. It's part of the Army, and right now is one of those times where they have to earn their paychecks. Wah. I'm tired of reserves and Guard whining when they actually have to do what they signed up to do.

BagBlog, I think he was saying that service isn't limited to the military anymore. That's what I got out of it. Just a poor choice of words from an idiot. He is right that there are plenty of ways to serve outside the military, but I think he was saying it more to justify himself and not to start some sort of service culture among the youth.

Anonymous said...

I'm assuming that LT knows moron's correct spelling, and that in doing so he's mocking the very right-minded conservative holding up that sign?

Nixon said...

Anonymous,

A moran is someone who needs to get with the program and jump on board with Team America for the big win!!

Bag Blog said...

"Moranna" is a female of the same program.