"Why Military Service Made Me a Democrat"
Markos of Daily Kos often annoys the fuck out of me, especially when he gets to talking about those evil "special interest groups" like the Sierra Club, NARAL and NOW. But his article The Soldier in Me, about how joining the military made him a Democrat, really touched me. Quick excerpt:
Military service is a sacrifice from the beginning. The cheap combat boots assigned to new recruits blister the toughest of feet -- after one particularly grueling 20-plus-mile road march with a 100-pound rucksack, I literally squeezed out blood from my socks. But basic training was the best thing to ever happen to me. They say they break you down in basic training so they can rebuild you into a real man. I was already broken when I arrived at Fort Sill. For me, it was all building.
Eight weeks later, I emerged a brand new person, this one weighing 140 pounds. And after my three-year stint, while I was stationed in Germany and missed deploying to the Gulf War by a hair, I emerged as a Democrat.
There’s a reason most vets running for office this year are running as Democrats. The military is perhaps the ideal society -- we worked hard but the Army took care of us in return. All our basic needs were met -- housing, food, and medical care. It was as close to a color-blind society as I have ever seen. We looked out for one another. The Army invested in us. I took heavily subsidized college courses and learned to speak German on the Army’s dime. I served with people from every corner of the country. I got to party at the Berlin Wall after it fell and explored Prague in those heady post-communism days. I wasn’t just a tourist; I was a witness to history.
The Army taught me the very values that make us progressives -- community, opportunity, and investment in people and the future. Returning to Bush Senior’s America, I was increasingly disillusioned by the selfishness, lack of community, and sense of entitlement inherent in the Republican philosophy. The Christian Coalition scared the heck out of me. And I was offended by the lip service paid to national service when most Republicans couldn’t be bothered to wear combat boots. I voted for Bush in 1992, but that was the last time I voted Republican.
My grandfather grew up in rural Ohio during the Depression. Joining the Navy allowed him to get a college education, a good job in electrical engineering, and a way out of poverty. Three of my uncles joined the Air Force, and it saved their lives. My godmothers' husband fought in Vietnam, then used his military experience to build a successful consulting firm. Countless of my friends' families could tell you the same story of how the military SAVED THEIR LIVES - although, my sample size is wildly skewed living in the nations' capitol.
Many vets & vets families I know used to become Republicans for Life, as my Grandfather did and my godmothers' husband still is. But not these days. It seems like everyone I've met who's served in the past decade is virtually always a Democrat. They come out of the Military severely disillusioned and ready to vote for anyone who doesn't have an (R) next to their name.
Military service is a sacrifice from the beginning. The cheap combat boots assigned to new recruits blister the toughest of feet -- after one particularly grueling 20-plus-mile road march with a 100-pound rucksack, I literally squeezed out blood from my socks. But basic training was the best thing to ever happen to me. They say they break you down in basic training so they can rebuild you into a real man. I was already broken when I arrived at Fort Sill. For me, it was all building.
Eight weeks later, I emerged a brand new person, this one weighing 140 pounds. And after my three-year stint, while I was stationed in Germany and missed deploying to the Gulf War by a hair, I emerged as a Democrat.
There’s a reason most vets running for office this year are running as Democrats. The military is perhaps the ideal society -- we worked hard but the Army took care of us in return. All our basic needs were met -- housing, food, and medical care. It was as close to a color-blind society as I have ever seen. We looked out for one another. The Army invested in us. I took heavily subsidized college courses and learned to speak German on the Army’s dime. I served with people from every corner of the country. I got to party at the Berlin Wall after it fell and explored Prague in those heady post-communism days. I wasn’t just a tourist; I was a witness to history.
The Army taught me the very values that make us progressives -- community, opportunity, and investment in people and the future. Returning to Bush Senior’s America, I was increasingly disillusioned by the selfishness, lack of community, and sense of entitlement inherent in the Republican philosophy. The Christian Coalition scared the heck out of me. And I was offended by the lip service paid to national service when most Republicans couldn’t be bothered to wear combat boots. I voted for Bush in 1992, but that was the last time I voted Republican.
My grandfather grew up in rural Ohio during the Depression. Joining the Navy allowed him to get a college education, a good job in electrical engineering, and a way out of poverty. Three of my uncles joined the Air Force, and it saved their lives. My godmothers' husband fought in Vietnam, then used his military experience to build a successful consulting firm. Countless of my friends' families could tell you the same story of how the military SAVED THEIR LIVES - although, my sample size is wildly skewed living in the nations' capitol.
Many vets & vets families I know used to become Republicans for Life, as my Grandfather did and my godmothers' husband still is. But not these days. It seems like everyone I've met who's served in the past decade is virtually always a Democrat. They come out of the Military severely disillusioned and ready to vote for anyone who doesn't have an (R) next to their name.