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The scenario you offer is in part true. Many minorities use the military benefits as a way out of impoverishment. I would not call that exploiting I would say it was offering a man a way to work his way to a better life instead of sitting and expecting welfare to help
Plenty of whites use the military as a way out of impoverishment as well.
If boot camp does nothing else, it instills the mentality of, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.
That's true but secondary to the fact that you are trained to kill anybody they tell you to without question and get paid to do it. Not that that's wrong, it just is what it is. As the saying goes, " we don't train you to die for your country, we train you to make the other guy die for his country."
If boot camp does nothing else, it instills the mentality of, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.
It's funny how at my high school it was the people who got into the most trouble that went into the military as enlisted. My school was a very economically divided school. You had people bused in from the richest part of town (rather, they drove) and you had the poorest kids in the town bussed in. Recruiters would not enter into the advanced classes (which were mostly White and upper middle class) and would usually enter the worst classes (Hispanic/Black and poor). So, the military was targeted to those that had WAY fewer options. This is not to slight anyone who served. Many people have turned their lives around and have done productive remarkable things.
The biggest exception were the academies, the advanced students of the school was targeted. One left for West Point (my brother's alma mater).
Discipline should be militaristic, except in the military. It enforces dogma and reduces critical thinking (which is good when you want to have unified thinking, which is needed in the military). However, for everyday civilian life, that sort of mentality leads to some very odd responses.
Again, I respect those that fought. I'm not one of those people who calls our military a bunch of baby killers. They didn't create policy and most have good hearts. However, to claim that military discipline is the best means of discipline should really take a critical look. Here in South Korea, many bars have signs excluding military personnel...mostly due to the rowdiness of the crowds.
Prosperity is the creation, trade and enjoyment of surplus usable goods and services. Making more with less, so more can enjoy is the recipe for success.
Anything that interferes with the creation, trade and enjoyment of that production is bound to cause impoverishment.
Penalizing the productive (via taxes) and rewarding the non-producer (via entitlements, etc) will result in collapse.
When the "fleas" outvote the "dog", the "dog" is doomed.
In other words, if you reward the takers, and penalize the givers, the takers "take over".
'Nuff said.
Thanks for the Ayn Rand tutorial, now how about answering the OP's question.
The 1940's- the early 1960's almost every man was enlisted in the military and went through boot camp and eventually serving our nation.
The 40's through the 60's saw enormous prosperity.
Could it have anything to do with the values and discipline implanted by our military?
In today's public sector, the values and discipline are long gone.
Very few hold the same pride in our nation, nor have the discipline to be self sufficient, because you may not be able to rely on your buddy.
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Do military values and discipline implant prosparity [sic]?
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Originally Posted by wikipedia
23% [of homeless] are veterans (compared to 13% of general population).
I don't expect you to understand, your not an American.
I'm an American and I agree with every syllable of what neuling said. BTW it's "you're", not "your." Obviously military values don't enhance literacy.
There are certain proper values in pursuing martial virtues, but any otherwise proper value can be taken to an unhealthy extreme. But the United States is not simply a country that maintains a military for self-defense. It is a country where militarism is prized for its own sake, as suggested by your OP.
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