'We've Been So Selfish': 800,000 Privileged Youths Enlist To Fight In Iraq

[ellisonz]

800,000 Privileged Youths Enlist To Fight In Iraq
'We've Been So Selfish'
January 10, 2007 | Issue 43•02

WASHINGTON, DC—Citing a desire to finally make a difference in Iraq, in the past two weeks, more than 800,000 young people from upper-middle- and upper-class families have put aside their education, careers, and physical well-being to enlist in the military, new data from the Department Of Defense shows.

"I don't know if it was the safety and comfort of the holidays or what, but I realized that my affluence and ease of living comes at a cost," said Private Jonathan Grace, 18, who was to commence studies at Dartmouth College next fall, but will instead attend 12 weeks of basic training before being deployed to Fallujah with the 1st Army Battalion. "I just looked at my parents in their cashmere sweaters and thought, 'Who am I to go to an elite liberal arts college and spend all my time reading while, in the real world, thousands of kids my age are sacrificing their lives for our country?' It's not right."

Added Grace: "Whether I agree with the war or not, our president needs us, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let our least advantaged citizens bear the brunt of this awesome burden."

At the on-campus temporary recruitment table at Reed College in Portland, OR, the line of students eager to sign up for active duty stretched around the block Monday. Recruiters across the country reported a similar trend, with scores of young people asking how soon they could be ready to go to battle in Iraq.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/57314

As a Reed College student (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_College), I feel compelled to defend myself. My major is history and my focus is the history of war/peace in general, and more particularly the international politics of 20th century America, and my thesis is looking like its going to be on Vietnam.:P

[Dammit Ann]

1. i spit beer THROUGH my nose.

that's not a sensation I have experienced in a looong while. oh, if it were only true... gotta love the onion.

[ellisonz]

3. I hope you didn't hit the keyboard!

:hangover:

[Dammit Ann]

8. just a dribble...

it'll survive!:hi:

[ellisonz]

28. Merci Dieu!

:hi:

[DRoseDARs]

5. At least is wasn't Pixie Stick dust...

The artificially colored and flavored sugar, she BURNS!!! Most miserable experience of my life...

[Dammit Ann]

9. I BET!

barley only stings for a sec or two.... :evilgrin:

[DRoseDARs]

10. ...but sugar burns for hours. Believe me, I know. The Kleenex company made good money that day...

Took me years to build up the nerve to even LOOK at a Pixie Stick without crying after that.

[FredStembottom]

23. Or, more likely, the Citric Acid - or some such like that.......

did all the burning.

Any pixies here?

:grr: (burning nose smiley)

[LynzM]

22. Been there, done that....

Hurts like you wouldn't (well, *you* would) believe!

[monarch]

6. Your webpage looks like a keeper,

Just started noticing your posts this morning and went to your webpage. Looks interesting and I bookmarked it to check regularly.

[Dammit Ann]

7. Thank you!

Now I have to be on top of it! :toast: I always kinda use it for my own homepage, but it keeps me informed... THRILLED you like it! and I always take suggestions for links or stories.

[tkmorris]

2. I KNEW that had to be The Onion

No way does that ever happen for real.

[raccoon]

19. Ditto. nt

[Kurovski]

24. Yep. The headline itself is classic ironic Onion.

Darkly hilarious. Shaming, too. And in a very digestable way.

[Nay]

4. Oh, oh, oh. This piece is the perfect dopeslap to all RWers.

I just LOVE it.

[Eurobabe]

11. Bwahhahhaa!!! Never happen.

[ellisonz]

12. Kickypoo.

:kick:

[BlueIris]

13. It took me a while to locate The Onion source I knew I would find

eventually. So glad I was able to spot it; I thought I was going crazy there for a bit.

[EstimatedProphet]

14. If only this were true...

But it's the Onion. Of course, what else could it be?

[YankeyMCC]

15. Oh for Frak's sake!

I'm sitting here reading the post with my jaw on the ground...then I finally notice the Onion URL.

LoL-cut short because when you think about it to much it isn't funny at all. dammn.

[progressoid]

16. Funny, but ...

My nephew joined up.

He's from an upper-middle class family.

And his parents are Republicans too.

[Bridget Burke]

17. But he hardly represents most of the kids in his situation.

Good luck to him.

[WiseButAngrySara]

18. OMG! The Onion... That explains it! ....n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Very funny. In sharp contrast to the USA today piece on Generation Y.

Generation Y's goal? Wealth and fame

81% want to be rich and 51% want to be famous.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-09-gen-y-cover_x.htm

[girl gone mad]

29. What a depressing article.

A generation that idolizes Britney Spears and Paris Hilton?

[otherlander]

34. For what it's worth,

I'm middle class, both parents are teachers, and I'm planning on joining the Peace Corps after I graduate.

And by the way, I wouldn't place too much value on those poll results for 2 reasons: 1, alot of the boomers sold out, and only the truly caring ones stayed dedicated to their causes, and 2, those answers don't surprise me, coming from, well, KIDS. When people grow up, they CHANGE.

[Bridget Burke]

21. Meanwhile, in the Real World.

U.S.'s 3,000th service member killed recalled for his 'higher service';
Donica driven by his duty

"A week ago the number 3,000 changed for us. It was just a number to us, but no more. Now it has a face and now it's personal." — THE REV. JIM FOSTER

By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Spring soldier laid to rest Dustin Donica was the typical middle class teenager of his generation. He preferred soccer over football and spent what appeared to be every spare moment playing video games.

When he left the University of Texas at Austin to enlist in the Army in 2003, he told his parents he had lived a privileged life growing up in Spring, and that meant something different to him than it did to others.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/spring/news/4456422.html

Sgt. Donica considered himself "privileged." But many would not consider "Middle Class in Spring, Texas" especially wealthy.

I hadn't realized that #3000 came from my area.

[BreweryYardRat]

25. Don't we wish.

[ellisonz]

26. Yes we do.

:kick:

[FourScore]

27. I thought The Onion went bankrupt

a few months ago.

Love the photo of the preppies in line. It's great.

[ellisonz]

30. Must have dug themselves out. Good for them.

:kick:

[BlooInBloo]

31. Awww - they couldn't do it without a swipe at progressives... oh well...

[wordpix]

32. very good ---I expect Babs Jr. and Jenna to be among them

[Ilsa]

33. Somebody, please send this one to KO! This deserves a feature

on Countdown.

[LibDemAlways]

35. A few years back a friend and I were

discussing our respective high school reunions. She attended school in a predominently blue collar area, while I grew up in a wealthy suburb. She mentioned that her reunion committee was planning to honor those who served in Vietnam and asked if there would be a similar tribute at my reunion. I had to tell her in all honesty that the boys in my class (George Allen among them) got college deferments or pulled other strings to avoid military service and no one I knew of had set foot in Vietnam - and that was when the draft was in full force.

Repukes have no qualms about sending other people's children off to get killed. Just leave them out of it.