I was talking with a friend the other day and just about lost my fucking mind over something he said.. I didn't say anything about it, but boy.. It was just about all I could do not to. He was here with his son and suggested that everyone should have to undergo a term of forced service in the US military as a condition of citizenship.. Which has to be just about the stupidest fucking thing I think I've ever heard. I'll forgive a little, legitimate, ignorance... And especially from a time when the entire country got its view of affairs from a handful of TV stations, a couple of newspapers, some out of date, biased tomes at the local library and the Encyclopedia Britannica. But I have a hard time suffering it now.. In the information age. Americans have convinced themselves that signing up for service doing something completely pointless and expensive, a thousand miles away.. Often as not working for a CIC who is either an incompetent or a draft dodger himself, is a worthwhile pursuit for which the entire country should be grateful. This is RIDICULOUS. I'm not grateful at all, and a bunch of those people who (Especially in the wake of 9/11) did join up for the right reasons (I won't mention the ones who signed up to fill sand bags and collect benefits.. Because they are human scum with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.) should be angered that their lives and limbs were squandered on silly endeavors that are wholly unrelated to US National Security. Seriously.. If you had a son who lost a leg in Afghanistan, can you honestly say that his sacrifice was "worth it" That he suffered protecting the Country and the Constitution he pledged to defend? I wouldn't.. I'd say he was sent to do something any sane country would never do, and he suffered for it.. And while that's regrettable (As is all tragedy) it was a complete waste from a National Security standpoint. Just a net loss all the way around.. It cost us big money which his kids, and their kids, will have to pay back.. . It cost him his leg. We're no safer as a result.. It's just a complete loser any way I look at it. Let's just be honest with ourselves: We're not talking storming the beach at Normandy here.. We're talking about a bombed out shit hole with resources and transportation corridors that we want to make safe for investment. If I had a kid injured in pursuit of something so ridiculous, I'd be every bit as angry with the CIC who sent him there than I would be with the bombers who cost him his leg. I'd just apportion blame all around.. But this thread isn't really about the military, or conscription.. It's about things silly things that Americans convince themselves of.. for various reasons.. (Often cultural) and sometimes with disastrous results. Can you think of any other examples of stupid ideas we should completely purge from our culture? Things like: China has a "President" but Cuba and North Korea have "Dictators" Why is this? Well, apparently because China permits Multi-Nationals and private investment, and they put their top Commie in a suit instead of a military uniform. Whites are a "Majority" who are in the minority almost everywhere on earth... A situation we seek to rectify here, but nobody else seems to give a big shit about.. Women are somehow considered a "minority" who comprise a majority of the population.. Etc.. Etc..