Thanks, EdEKit-- and right on. I'm all for having the best defensive army in the world, and I really regret not making it clear from the beginning that my comments-- and lack of support-- had more to do with recent enlistees and nothing to do with those who had reasonable cause to believe that they would only be deployed in an honest, realistic, judicious manner when they signed up.
Truthfully, it's the same principle that makes me very irritated when I hear that so-and-so percentage of American high school seniors can't find the country or their home state on a map. This, to me, seems like a logical extension of that same problem-- high school kids think the news is irrelevant to them, thus do not take up the slack left by the public education system by watching the news, reading books, etc. That was the basis of my use of the dreaded D-Word (Darwinism) that I appear to have used somewhat loosely given the gravity of the subject.
(steps up to podium, clears throat)
Hey parents! Talk to your kids now and then! Don't let them be raised by XBox or whatever the current trendy gaming system is! Encourage independent reading, FROM PRESCHOOL FORWARD! Don't raise another generation of dupes! Encourage critical thinking! Discuss the news over dinner!
(steps down, loosens tie)
Maybe I should have said all that in the first post, instead of what I DID say. But it would likely would have sunk to the bottom of the tank for lack of sparkle.
In hindsight, it might also have been equally thought-provoking if I'd asked everyone if they would advise their own child to join the military upon graduation this spring. The answers might have been more illuminating had I not used the "danger sports" metaphor...