Mini Rant
Tonight I have seen at least 4 different commercials on TV about American Military recruitment. They all go the same way - a young adult, roughly 18 or so tells their parent they want to join the Army or their parent tells them they're cool with it.
So I know there are a TON of difference between Canada and the USA when it comes to the military, but for christsake, I grew up with the goddamn military and the way these commercials portray it, it's almost as if these parents are agreeing to allowing their children to march off to their deaths.
Chances are these people will NOT die due to military conflict. Consider the number of casualties in the middle east as opposed to say the Korean War or Vietnam or WW2 or whatever. Seriously you're probably more likely to be killed as a freakin civilian in a country in conflict than you are as a soldier with today's modern warfare.
I'm not saying soliders don't die due to war. Some certainly do, and I think it is admirable that they stood up for what their country as a whole believes in and it totally sucks that it happened, but they don't die in the same numbers as they used to. Aside from that, just because you're in the military doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna get shipped out somewhere. Lots of military people don't get sent over seas!! And if they do, some don't do it for all that long, in the grand scheme of things.
I whole heartedly believe that you shouldn't join the military unless you are willing to directly defend your country should it come to it. But that doesn't mean it willl come to that.
I think this just bothers me because there are like 4 or 5 different commercials that are ALL like this....oy...