My Culture war...
On january 29th 2002, I enlisted in the US Navy. Despite being solidly left-leaning children of the 60s my parents were supportive. "At least he didn't join the Marines." My mother was heard to say. "You should be a computer tech or an air traffic controller, that way you can stay in the US and make good money once your 4 years are up." was also common dinner conversation.
When my contract came back stamped "AIRR/AW 7876 (Helicopter Crewman)" they knew better than to fight it. I had been an aviation geek for almost as long as I could walk, and now that the Navy was offering me the chance to trade-in my plastic models for the real thing there'd be no dissuading me.
While in boot camp I volunteered for "special progams", meaning that(assuming I completed the selection process) I would not be spending my deployments on an aircraft carrier safely off-shore, I'd be spending them attached to a Marine battalion or SEAL team getting my boots dirty.
My parents saw this as an incredibly stupid decision, and told me so. After all, flying helicopters was dangerous enough, why volunteer to get shot at? I had my reasons, but as hard as I tried I could not explain in a way that would satisfy. Sure, more responsibility and better pay is good, but in the end I did it because I wanted a challenge. I did not want to be one of Roosevelt's "cold and timid souls", I wanted to be the man in the arena.
This was something they simply didn't understand. Years later I still get asked "why didn't you just play it safe?".
A few days ago I posted Let's Play a Game intending to start a conversation on risk vs. reward. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and didn't make my intent clear.
When asked "what's in the box?" my first impulse is to reach in and find out. Though I have learned through experiance now to at least ask "How much gold?" and "is the snake angry?". My father on the other hand would not place his hand in the box, no matter what he stood to gain.
To be clear, I value my safety(I don't have a deathwish), but in my mind safety is a secondary concern. I've posted this before, but I feel that it bears repeating. (specifically the 2nd half about the "culture of work")
I'd say that as a community we like to paint "The Culture War" as an issue of Rich vs. Poor, Red vs. Blue, or Enlightenment vs. Ignorance, because it makes it easy to believe that you're on the right side and that anyone who disagrees is on the wrong side. Personally I think it's far more complicated.
What if I were to argue that the war was really over Risk vs. Reward, Talk vs. Action, or Freedom vs. Safety?
Something that I've brought up in my posts about Iraq, is the idea that there are only ever two sides to a conflict, "Combatants" and "Non-Combatants". By virtue of participating in this discussion we are all combatants in the Culture War. You and I are on the same side but that doesn't mean we stand for the same things.
Edited to comply with Mod request
When my contract came back stamped "AIRR/AW 7876 (Helicopter Crewman)" they knew better than to fight it. I had been an aviation geek for almost as long as I could walk, and now that the Navy was offering me the chance to trade-in my plastic models for the real thing there'd be no dissuading me.
While in boot camp I volunteered for "special progams", meaning that(assuming I completed the selection process) I would not be spending my deployments on an aircraft carrier safely off-shore, I'd be spending them attached to a Marine battalion or SEAL team getting my boots dirty.
My parents saw this as an incredibly stupid decision, and told me so. After all, flying helicopters was dangerous enough, why volunteer to get shot at? I had my reasons, but as hard as I tried I could not explain in a way that would satisfy. Sure, more responsibility and better pay is good, but in the end I did it because I wanted a challenge. I did not want to be one of Roosevelt's "cold and timid souls", I wanted to be the man in the arena.
This was something they simply didn't understand. Years later I still get asked "why didn't you just play it safe?".
A few days ago I posted Let's Play a Game intending to start a conversation on risk vs. reward. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and didn't make my intent clear.
When asked "what's in the box?" my first impulse is to reach in and find out. Though I have learned through experiance now to at least ask "How much gold?" and "is the snake angry?". My father on the other hand would not place his hand in the box, no matter what he stood to gain.
To be clear, I value my safety(I don't have a deathwish), but in my mind safety is a secondary concern. I've posted this before, but I feel that it bears repeating. (specifically the 2nd half about the "culture of work")
I'd say that as a community we like to paint "The Culture War" as an issue of Rich vs. Poor, Red vs. Blue, or Enlightenment vs. Ignorance, because it makes it easy to believe that you're on the right side and that anyone who disagrees is on the wrong side. Personally I think it's far more complicated.
What if I were to argue that the war was really over Risk vs. Reward, Talk vs. Action, or Freedom vs. Safety?
Something that I've brought up in my posts about Iraq, is the idea that there are only ever two sides to a conflict, "Combatants" and "Non-Combatants". By virtue of participating in this discussion we are all combatants in the Culture War. You and I are on the same side but that doesn't mean we stand for the same things.
Edited to comply with Mod request