Reply #154: IMHO Vietnam isn't the best example to use

[ngant17]

The Vietnamese people were fighting a foreign invader so they were the real patriots, not the invading army (French and US soldiers). I am proud of the Vietnamese people who sacrificed so much against overwhelming odds to liberate themselves from the US of A.

WWII is a better example, because the Nazis were invaders and occupiers.

As for the coal mines, there are ways to struggle against a system which exploits workers. Rather than run away from that, there were many brave civilian workers who confronted the exploiters and attempted to create better working conditions for the non-unionized mine workers. Some of them were willing to sacrifice themselves in defense of the rights of others. This is far more heroic to me that joining the Army to shoot up gooks in 'Nam.

As for thinking, perhaps if there were ways to better oneself without having to join a branch of the military, well, I think it would require a complete restructuring of US society away from a military culture and toward a true peace culture.

I don't need a regimentalized mindset to tell me how to think creatively.

Having spent 3 years in the US Army myself, I am of the opinion that the military hinders the creative capacity of human beings.