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Originally Posted by host
politicophile, what about you? Do you fully understand the implications, obligations, and consequences of your vote for Bush? Do your plans include military service in the near future, or.....do you have "other priorities"?
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Let me first state that I know Dan Schuberth personally and he is a collossal asshole - I'd have a hard time finding a worse leader. Maybe that's why I haven't been to a College Republicans meeting since Freshman year...
In a sense, I suppose I do have "other priorities". Like (I would hope) most patriotic Americans, I considered joining the military. ROTC would have been my route. After receiving information about the program from the Army website, I met with an Army Major who himself was an ROTC grad. He highly recommended that I join and convinced me that I would be well-suited for the work.
There are three reasons that, combined, comprise my "other priorities": those are my mother, my father, and my girlfriend. For a period of about six months, these three major influences on my life attempted to convince me that it would be unwise for me to join the military.
My mother argued that it would put me at unnecessary risk. Since I didn't need any monetary assistence in receiving an education, she argued, it didn't make any sense to put myself in harm's way.
My father argued that it was not in my interest to join, as it would delay my going to grad school and developing personal connections with the people I will be dealing with in my political life. He also claimed that there were other ways that I could satisfy my obligation to my country, such as working as a District Attorney or running for political office.
My girlfriend argued that, by joining the Army, I would be setting myself up for being forced to fight for a cause I didn't believe in. Considering the man currently occupying the Whitehouse, I thought this concern was entirely legitimate.
I did not join ROTC because I thought the arguments against doing so were good ones. Furthermore, I respected the opinions of those people closest to me and, in part, relied on their judgment. Sometimes I sincerely regret my decision. Other times, I feel I made the right call...
As for military service in the future... on the off chance they begin drafting soldiers before I enroll in law school, I will enlist when I graduate from college in the spring of 2007. If there is no draft, I will attend law school beginning in the fall of 2008, presumably graduating in spring 2011. At that point, all bets are off: I have no idea if military service would be on my mind then. Here is my best guess, though. I'll be 26 at that time. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that enlisting entails three years of service. If that is correct, I see no reason why I couldn't serve for three years before settling down. However, I certainly wouldn't consider this "the near future", nor do I think predictions that far in the future mean very much. I will say, however, that I believe all Americans should serve their country in one way or another. There is no profession more noble than being a soldier and I aspire to serve at a time when my educational "obligations" have been fulfilled.