Aim Low…in the Army

In the good old trust territory days, and even more recently, the U.S. military was one way a local youngster could escape poverty. Well, perhaps not escape poverty entirely, since an enlisted man never earned a substantial sum.

Still, for impoverished folks, joining the military was (and still is, to a certain extent) one way of helping to support the family, pay debts, or save for college. Besides, the U.S. military offers medical, dental, and other benefits, such as PX privileges, free chow, and retirement points.

Of course, back in the old days, some men became enlisted men by force: they were drafted. Others joined out of a sense of romantic adventure or patriotism. A few men were born soldiers. But, for the most part, young men joined out of necessity, purely for economic reasons.

Most enlisted young men simply have nothing better going for them. They can’t afford to go to college. Their families can’t afford to defray the costs. The military represents a way out. Many impoverished youngsters join the military out of economic desperation.

After all, who in his right mind would eagerly subject himself to the indignities of boot camp? Who wants to rise at five in the morning and be constantly harassed by a drill sergeant? The military life is generally not an appealing option–unless one is economically desperate and has virtually no other alternative.

Of course, many young men will never admit this to themselves. They delude themselves into thinking that they are behaving out of commendable patriotic motives, which is exactly what the government would have them believe.

In a very real sense, then, the government has a real vested interest in sustaining poverty. For how else are they going to get their enlisted men?

I have always held that a man should not have children unless he can pay for all of his offspring’s expenses, including college. But if this were true, if all men were responsible, the government would no longer have cannon fodder to throw at a potential political enemy, as only the poor would be motivated to enlist. The rich have much better, more productive things to do with their lives. Therefore, in a very profound sense, the state has a vested interest in subsidizing the unproductive via the welfare state.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that both Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt expanded the American welfare state in times of war. For in order to maintain the military industrial complex and keep recruitment levels up, the state has to promote poverty via the welfare state. They need poor, desperate young men to enlist. Let the new military slogan be: “Aim low.”