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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
In the last presidential election, who was the candidate overwhelmingly favored by the wealthy (i.e., the one percent)? Hint- it wasn't the guy who the liberals supported.
And the lottery system had nothing to do with it. Student deferments remained available and, alternatively, it was easy enough to use ones connections to get into the National Guard, etc. or to get non-combatant assignments. |
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General_Magician Special user United States 707 Posts |
George Bush the draft dodger! Who got assigned to the National Guard during that time period as a pilot. Hmmm...something tells me somebody had some connections there. I see your point. What's funny is that back then the National Guard was used by the well connected and the wealthy to dodge the draft whereas today, the National Guard was kind of a backdoor draft to send people straight into the front lines into combat. The National Guard today would not be a good place to dodge the draft or from facing any danger or combat.
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby." -unknown
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Now you're getting my point. But, to be fair, wealthy Democrats did the same thing.
My point is that the counterculture emphatically did NOT represent the rich. The latter were the "establishment" and were seen as representing everything that was wrong with America. |
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General_Magician Special user United States 707 Posts |
See, like today, the National Guard was utilized much more in a overseas deployment, combat role capacity because the regular Army had become over-stretched. So, many of your ordinary citizens with day jobs but were also in the Guard got called up to deploy into places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of these Guardsmen lost their jobs because of their deployments or were denied jobs in the private sector because of their membership in the Guard. It's illegal to do that, but proving it is a whole other story. Not to mention, employers can drag out lawsuits for long periods of time. So, in a way, instead of refuge from the draft for the privileged and well connected like it was in the 60s and 70s, the National Guard become like a sort of backdoor draft to get the Army the manpower it needed to conduct it's wars.
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby." -unknown
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
But, as you correctly noted, that's not the way it was during the Vietnam years, and that is the time we're talking about.
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General_Magician Special user United States 707 Posts |
Quote:
On May 26, 2014, mastermindreader wrote: Ohh yeah, I have always known Bush was a draft dodger. But I still show him plenty of respect because he was one of the CiCs even if I didn't agree with him. It's funny, the Army conditions you to stop thinking for yourself and to not have your own opinions and to simply focus on the task that is at hand and to react rather than think. I didn't really see that in me until I thought back and was like "Ohh yeah, that's right Bush was a draft dodger! How did I forget that? I've always known that!" I am discharged now so it's been a slow process of getting my old self back again or finding myself again now that I am no longer in the Guard. I think some of the values like patriotism, loyalty, discipline, planning, professionalism and being focused that I learned in the Guard I will keep though.
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby." -unknown
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
Quote:
On May 26, 2014, mastermindreader wrote: Yes Bob, that is definitely my memory as well; for the most part, the white dominated trade unions were pro-war for a number of reasons. GM is partly right, I think, in that the white working class felt that their sons were being shafted by not having the deferments from the war that many college students had. That was an important split and the cause of much resentment. But it is also true that many of those same workers didn't seek deferments for their children; they were strong supporters of LBJ and the Democratic Party which had brought them economic prosperity--and very few of the Democratic establishment criticized LBJ and his war until the late 60s. And then, many of those same union workers, especially in the construction trades and the Teamsters, came from Polish, Irish, and Italian Catholic backgrounds who felt that the counterculture thrust of sex, and drugs, and rock 'n' roll was blasphemous and anti what we would call now "family values." The Catholic clergy in the US was also a big supporter of the war, and that influenced many as well. Later, those workers switched over to Nixon and the Republicans after the Democrats nominated the anti-war George McGovern for President in 1972. Of course this is all speaking in generalities. You could point to exceptions all over the place. But that was the general tenor of the time.
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