Maybe…maybe not
Posted
November 2, 2006 at
11:54 am by
Julie
[youtube]vLuMWiQ6r2o[/youtube]
I understand why he said it - he’s trying to promote the virtues of education, making a joke that these kids can relate to.
But is he right? And does he really believe what he said?
At the Pentagon, I knew a young airman who hailed from Southeast DC. If you aren’t familiar with Southeast, it’s arguably the most impoverished of the four quadrants, where the kids have the least hope of escaping the cycle of poverty and crime.
He was an exemplary young man who had escaped that cycle - with the help of the military. I had great respect for him and for the example he set for other young men and women who came from similar backgrounds.
Meanwhile, my own younger brother, who should have had the world by the tail, enlisted in the Marine Corps. He had laughed and joked his way through high school, graduating by the skin of his teeth. He didn’t expect my parents to subsidize him. Instead, he brought them enlistment papers for their signatures.
His IQ and his ambition didn’t match up in the traditional way. He served as a mechanic in the Marine Corps, and his jobs since leaving the military have all been geared toward his mechanical talents.
Neither of these young men wasted their talents or their intelligence by enlisting in the military. Military service is an admirable career path, whether it’s taken for four years or for thirty.
So the answer to the first question is no. John Kerry’s statement is not correct. Education and military service are not an either-or proposition.
But I do have to wonder if he and other civilian leaders - regardless of their political party - look down upon the enlisted troops. Most enlistees do not have a college degree. Some of them never will.
Military leaders, regardless of their rank, almost always hold their troops in high esteem. They recognize the individual contributions made by each and every one, and they realize that their success depends upon the performance of their troops.
Civilian leaders, especially politicians - regardless of party, seem to see people as a means to an end. Sure, they act as if they care. But just like that deadbeat relative who only calls to say hello at the beginning of December, civilian leaders are driven by election timetables.
Sadly, I do think Kerry really feels this way. I think that, deep down, many civilian leaders feel this way. That military service - especially in the enlisted ranks - is a lesser choice than pursuing a college education.
I know many bloggers feel this way. And it’s insulting, whether that’s the intent or not.
It takes all kinds to make a productive society, and everyone’s role is important - from the principal of the high school to the cafeteria worker slinging hash, from the visionary CEO to the entry-level programmer, from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the one-striper passing a wrench to his crew chief.
My father used to say, “The world needs ditch diggers too.” His intent was not to minimize the ditch diggers’ work, but to illustrate the integral nature of all types of work.
Senator Kerry, without that ditch digger, there would be no place to lay the cable that carries your message from the television studio to milions of American homes. Be careful who you disparage in an effort to convey your message.
Tags: iraq, john-kerry, News-&-Politics |
8 Responses to “Maybe…maybe not”
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1. Ellen said:
November 2, 2006 @ 1:20 pm
My understanding of what Kerry says he was trying to convey is that if you don’t get an education, you end up like President Bush and get us into a war that gets us stuck. i.e. Bush is the one who didn’t study and now he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Is that what Kerry really meant? I don’t know. But that’s what his people are saying the comment was meant to be.
2. Prescott said:
November 2, 2006 @ 1:37 pm
Well, whatever Kerry supposedly meant to say, boy is he botching this badly. First, he received immediate feedback to that comment, yet he chose to wait it out and not apologize until after the media shit storm hit.
Then, he does one of those pseudo-apologies that I can’t fucking stand from politicians, “I’m sorry that you were offended. I’m sorry you took my words the wrong way.” How about you say, I’m sorry I offended the troops?
Lastly, he points his finger at the Republicans, jumping on them for “misinterpreting” his words. MISINTERPRETING? Again, pointing the finger at the offended instead of back at himself. While I think maybe more is being made out of this than needs to be, nobody misinterpreted anything, he misspoke.
“Look at that blue car.”
“That car is red.”
“Well, you misinterpreted me and I’m sorry that you heard blue.”
3. Julie said:
November 2, 2006 @ 1:48 pm
Ellen, if that’s what he meant, he’s still not making sense. President Bush has an education. And he alone is not responsible for the fact that we have troops in Iraq.
4. Jessica Carlson said:
November 2, 2006 @ 2:02 pm
I actually heard that more military people wind up with degrees as compared to the regular population. I’ll have to look this up later and see if that’s accurate.
One thing I do know, some of the most successful people in life — entrepreneurs, doctors, pilots, POLITICIANS etc. have served in the military.
What Kerry said was inexcusable and I am shocked anybody would try to either make an excuse for this disrespectful, rude and mean-spirited (and false) expression. The only reason I can think of, that somebody would still support Kerry is for purely partisan reasons.
5. James said:
November 2, 2006 @ 8:51 pm
Not only does Bush have an education, but his grades were better than Kerry’s at Yale. What a bad joke that got turned around on himself.
6. Cristina said:
November 4, 2006 @ 12:31 am
I thought that Kerry definitely put his foot in his mouth here. I continue to support him in general, but I don’t support this particular statement.
It sounded like he was saying that if you don’t study hard or if you aren’t smart then you’re only option will be the military. For one thing, as you pointed out, this insults people who have chosen a military career. But also, it assumes that all people who try hard and are “smart” will have a myriad of opportunities available to them. I think that is unrealistic and naive. I believe that there are many “smart”, capable people who, because of economic or social/family disadvantages, really DON’T have many options for pursuing higher education. And in fact, the reason people often choose the military is so that they can get an education in the first place.
I just don’t get his statement or why he said it. They tried to say he was referring to Bush but I think that’s a cover. But at the same time it doesn’t really make sense that Kerry, himself a war veteran, would put down the military.
7. Ames Tiedeman said:
November 5, 2006 @ 4:53 pm
I think Kerry has these slips of the tongue do to anger. He has so much to say and a much smaller audience than he wants that he gets very frustrated and says stupid things. Keep in mind, he is not all that bright. His grades and performance at Yale were worse than that of President Bush. He is no genius when it comes to tact or discourse.
8. Angela said:
November 6, 2006 @ 12:45 am
I think a lot of people look down on enlisted troops or at the very least have no understanding of being enlisted. Coming from a place that many people go into the military for the opportunity and raised in a family who had a “ditch digger” saying also, I thought Senator Kerry’s remark seemed very ignorant. Even, with clarification of his intended remark, I believe he could have found a much better metaphor. If Senator Kerry wants an example of why people in central America say they dislike “East Coast” liberals it is because of remarks like this, even in the full correct manner.