In his Oct. 8 Soapbox, William Rutledge
presents a remarkably fact-free critique of an earlier Soapbox
by Cheryl Distaso encouraging students to "opt out" of military
recruitment in our public schools. Distaso made the point that
military recruiters are frequently untruthful when attempting to
sign people up to take part in the occupation of Iraq, which is
itself based on a history of deception.
Rutledge challenges Distaso's statement
that a woman runs a significantly greater risk of being raped in
the military than she would in civilian life by saying that he
participated in many courts martial while in the Air Force and "understand(s)
the fairness of the system." He dismisses the local organization
"Youth Against Militarism" by saying that he "cannot believe
that this organization was established or sustained by
'youths.'" Such empty statements flirt with solipsism, i.e. the
belief that self is the only reality.
Rutledge writes that it is apparent that
Distaso "is not a military veteran." He thereby implies that she
has no basis for criticizing military recruitment efforts.
Nevermind that Distaso's taxes support the military or that she
provides facts suggesting that military recruiters often mislead
potential recruits.
Indeed, the attitude that all things
military are beyond criticism is a hallmark of the ideology of
militarism. That ideology and the fiscal priorities it supports
are bankrupting our society, both materially and morally. We
need to hold those who deceive us on behalf of militarism
accountable, be they the local recruiting sergeant or the
commander-in-chief.
Kevin Cross,
Fort Collins
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originally published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan |
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