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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe Are Now, As Ever, At War With Eastasia. Happy Memorial Day From Yr Wonkette.
We originally ran this post for Memorial Day 2015. Its a lovely read, so we decided it should be reposted this year.By Dan Weber - May 30, 2016 - 10:30am
The Washington Post has pulled together a sobering chart that allows readers to determine what percentage of their lives the United States has been at war. Its worth a look I was born in 1983, so as long as the Global War on Terror continues for a couple more years, Ill get past the 50% mark before I turn 40.
On September 11, 2001, I was an 18-year-old with no disqualifying injuries and a vague appreciation for the kind of manpower necessary to conduct land wars in Asia. In Minnesota, where I grew up, the easiest way to escape the draft was via canoe, through Lake of the Woods and on to Ontario or, at least, thats what my dads plan had been if his number had been called in Vietnam (as it turned out, he was too young and had a good number). Watching the devastation in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, I thought there had to be a draft coming. My country would never be so irresponsible as to attempt expeditionary land war in Asia with an all-volunteer force.
*****
Of course, we didnt begin a draft, and we did not declare war, keeping alive a streak that started in 1941 and survived Korea, Vietnam, and two encounters with Saddam Hussein. I went off to college, where I spent most of my time writing (bad) comedy and arguing about the wars in which I would not participate. Given what we know about who serves in Americas all-volunteer military, my experience was more typical than not.
Some of my classmates, however, did go into the military. One went to West Point, where he studied medicine. A friend who was not the best student entered the Marine Corps. To this day, he claims that the Corps gave him the structure and the discipline he needed to turn his life around. The bonds he formed with his brothers, he says, are unbreakable.
http://wonkette.com/602356/we-are-now-as-ever-at-war-with-eastasia-happy-memorial-day-from-yr-wonkette-2#P8koxKQXiGHqPVY8.99
Heres how much of your life the United States has been at war
By Philip Bump May 25, 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/05/18/heres-how-much-of-your-life-the-united-states-has-been-at-war/
By Philip Bump May 25, 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/05/18/heres-how-much-of-your-life-the-united-states-has-been-at-war/
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We Are Now, As Ever, At War With Eastasia. Happy Memorial Day From Yr Wonkette. (Original Post)
rug
May 2016
OP
dchill
(38,505 posts)2. Have a thoughtful Memorial Day, everyone.
tymorial
(3,433 posts)3. Sobering...
What a perfect adjective to describe that chart.
underpants
(182,829 posts)4. That chart is incredible
Thanks