
“The military leaves no stone left unturned when it comes to getting into the hearts and minds of young people," - Oskar Castro of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker anti-war group.
What does it take to convince a high school student to join the military?
Could it be the recent video the military put up on the famous video website Youtube, with the intentions of convincing young individuals. This action-packed short movie titled “Vanguard” includes scenes of explosion, use of high-tech devices, and heroism. Future plans include less scripted scenes and more real “homemade” clips of soldiers serving in Iraq.
This video can be found on the following link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6kv8qlEVKU0
US Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) 'Vanguard'
Or could it also be the constant presence in high schools, lack of awareness by teachers, parents, and students, or the sweet promises of non-combat jobs such as mechanical work, communications, and wiring. Dr. Teresa Whitehurst writes about the presence of the military at her daughter’s school. She se
nses that nowadays it is a more common thing to see posters of the military decorate school halls and commercials on educational channels. Slogans such as “The Power of One”, "Army Strong", and “Be All That You Can Be” have become popular and well known among the young and old alike.
“I think the teachers and the kids are so used to it at my school that they don't even notice anymore. I mean, the other day I was walking to Sociology class and heard the ROTC instructor telling the kids, "Okay, this is how you hold your M-16". The whole culture of the school is military these days, so nobody notices anything unusual about this. And I think the few teachers who aren't pro-war or pro-Bush are afraid to get in trouble if they say anything that doesn't sound pro-military." - Isa Whitehurst, Dr. Teresa Whitehurst daughter.
Whatever it may be, students are not alone. Not all ignore the fact that the military pursues us. Many of our educators have taken a stand to opposing military forces. “Young people must be given a true picture of Army life, not a marketised version", the National Union of Teachers conference heard. Opening the eyes of the young is one of the most important jobs of an educator. If they fail at this, they have failed at everything else because to some degree our educators’ guidance is of the essence to our future.
"Join the Army and we will send you to carry out the imperialist occupation of other people's countries,"
"Join the Army and we will send you to bomb, shoot and possibly torture fellow human beings in other countries.
"Join the Army and we will send you probably poorly equipped into situations where people will try to shoot or kill you because you are occupying other people's countries.
"Join the Army, and if you survive and come home, possibly injured or mentally damaged, you and your family will be shabbily treated." - Paul McGarr, a teacher from east London.
Sources:
Info:
Military Recruiting: Be All That YouTube Can Be
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2983159&page=1
Propaganda of US Military through our Schools
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8125.htm
Teachers reject 'Army propaganda'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7311917.stm
Pics:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/NCO%20slaute%20poster-web.jpg
http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/propaganda.jpg
Vids:
Army Strong Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OEOokKp67Y&feature=related















