[Noisebridge-discuss] Sigh -- I'm not helping with Maker Faires this year.

[Gopiballava Flaherty]

On Apr 3, 2012, at 15:49, Matt Joyce <matt at nycresistor.com> wrote:

> For many people in rural America especially first and second
> generation Americans service in the military offers the only
> reasonable opportunity they have coming out of high school.  If you
> have to emancipate yourself from your parents at 18 and you need to
> start a life for yourself, the incentives offered by the military can
> be the difference between success and failure in a very big way.

Absolutely. This is very unfortunate IMHO. 

> This is not a clear cut good / bad discussion.  Many people throughout
> history ( especially the Irish ) have fought in wars that were not
> their own, and never a concern of theirs simply because that was the
> best of options made available to them by chance or fate or whatever
> you want to call it.

Being forced by circumstances into an immoral choice does not make the choice moral. I will likely be much less critical of an individual who makes such a choice, but I will not call the choice moral.

> And regardless of a persons reason for entering the military, it is a
> professional choice that demonstrates a strength of character some
> might call courage.

Red herring. I'm sure you could find many examples of courage shown by people during the commission of horrible things. Courage and perseverance in the pursuit of moral goals is laudable. Courage and perseverance in the pursuit of immoral choices, even when the alternate choices you have are unpleasant is not something I see as positive.