For the politically-minded who love war movies, or just movies in general, Hollywood's output has been disappointing ever since September 11, 2001. The attacks hammered home the threat of radical Islamism, but the film industry responded in typical politically-correct fashion. That's been a source of annoyance to those who want gritty action scenes ala Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down without the heavy-handed condemnations of the military, the Bush government, the CIA or those dastardly neo-conservatives; movies where soldiers are dedicated, professional men who try to help the Afghan or Iraqi people and fight off the jihadis who want to enslave them. For every Fahrenheit 9/11, Redacted and Lions for Lambs, there is the overwhelming desire to see just one good WoT movie where everything is (yes) black and white. (Mark Humphrys has a good section on Cinema and the War). Even more annoying is Hollywood’s stubborn refusal to look reality in the face, and to keep turning out anti-war flicks knowing they will bomb when a good pro-war flick can make millions of dollars.
Joining the military has always been a dream for me. As a kid, I wanted nothing more to be one of the bad-ass Navy SEALs on the recruiting commercials. As I grew older, watching movies such as "Black Hawk Down" and scourging military documentaries like "BUD/s Class 234" only strengthened what seemed like a far-fetched dream.
But now, here I am. Enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Utah. For those not familiar with it, the purpose of this program is to have college students commission as Second Lieutenants in whichever branch of ROTC they've chosen -- for me, it's the United States Army.
Even before I joined the ROTC program, I wanted to articulate whether or not I wanted to join the military. What you're about to read is the first of many segments of my thoughts on why I want to serve.
With my recent conversations with certain people about American foreign policy, my qualms about today's dually practical and humanitarian (naturally, as a state actor, the former supersedes the latter) intentions of US foreign policy today, are diminishing. Most helpful in this troublesome trek are people who...More >>
