Reply #71: I think Clark handled it well. [View All]

[Cogito]

I also think you handled the interaction with your son very well too.

Still, I wonder if you could say a bit more about how you feel about your son's response. The general asked the question "if your country needed you would you volunteer?" and your son's answer was "NO." I expect that if you asked either of my kids whether they would volunteer to join the armed forces they would answer the same way your son did. I am also sure that I feel every bit as protective of my kids as you do for yours. But, there is a strong part of me that wishes that your son and my kids would answer the General's question differently. If we are unwilling to serve in the military ourselves or to encourage our kids to serve then by what right should we expect other people's children to put their lives on the line on our behalf?

This is a rhetorical question as much as a real one--a question for me as much as for you. As a good liberal I would say that there are many ways in which one can serve the community and the nation. That is, of course, true. But, that answer doesn't take the General's question seriously. The premise of the question is that your country legitimately needs YOU for the armed forces. How can there be any legitimate answer to that question except YES?