Hmm I suppose you have to consider whether or not it is just, but if in a defensive situation (E.g. being invaded) I would very happily fight, no questions asked

What if you were given a situation where the people in charge of your country gave a bunch of defensive reasons for going to war, but then you later found out that all the reasons were untrue and that the only reasons left for going to war were money related? Would you be mad or what?

If you are trying to relate it to Iraq, I Wouldnt be too upset.
I fought to liberate a country who had an oppressive dictator...
If you're talking about a different situation e.g. invading a 'normal' country, then i would be mad

I personally love most things military, and it's supposed to be a really good fun thing to do for only a couple years... the only catch of course is the chance of war.
I'd like to join the army some day, but I havent really decided yet

Patriotism means youll fight against anything undermining the spirit and soul of your land, including the govornment, if they become evil. Like now.

I volonteered to join the army and serve, it was a choice. Forcing people to serve is complete bull#, though. Only in times of national emergency would I support a draft, in otherwords, like the Chinese getting ready to invade us. Iraq and all these stupid wars is not a national emergency, its a national embarrassment, one that is killing soldiers who would be far better off alive and contributing to defending thier own borders.

Any nation that drafts its young people to go off and die in a foreign land for the sake of politics and greed is committing suicide. Period. To sacrifice your future cops, doctors, laborers, engineers, ect on the field of battle....youre killing your future.

I have been sent over to foreign lands to "defend them" and I despised it. There is not a country on earth other than the one Im in that I feel worth shedding my blood for. Saudi Arabia and Europe, my two duty stations, are not on the list. The idea Id die in either place.....for no really good reason, was rather disturbing.

The draft, right now, under current circumstances, is the most unpatriotic thing I could imagine.

Yeah, in this context I agree, but in the same breath would you stop DEFENDING your country (literally defending, not political defending) after you kick out the invaders? In this I mean would you continue to invade the people who warred with you, like the Allies did to Germany?

If we kicked out invaders, I wouldnt invade them, Id nuke the # out of thier country for daring to come into mine. Id not waste lives, cuz then once we occupy, wed have to rebuild or something. No, I am very vengeful. Id make the invading country pay DEARLY. Something they would not forget.

Ok then...
how would you feel if the Iraqis nuked every american city now?

I agree also that the draft is a bad idea. You will run into problems, especially with those who were reluctant to go in the first place. With an all-volunteer army, like America has, each soldier is there of his own accord. That makes the quality of soldiers a bit better.


I also served for 5 years. Now, though, I would only support a draft in case of direct invasion of our country.

If Iraq nuked every American city.....well, they certainly would be removing some eye sores! If they nuked us right now, though, id certainly nuke them back!

frankly i think patriotism shouldnt be wehter u want 2 die for ur country it should be do u want 2 live for ur country make it a better place and to show the world that your country isnt crap its great.you should be proud of what your country has achived and will achieve and another thing before you sort out some1 else country you should sort out ur own

I would die for Canada anyday!

Deep

I wouldn't want to join the military to go fight a war in other countries but I would defend my country if it was under direct attack. I the case of a country trying to invade us, I might join if I knew I would be fighting in a purely defensife way but I'd want to join a civilian militia rather than the military, that way at least I know I wont be sent on a suicide mission. If I was under an enemy ocupation, I'd join the resistance right away But I wouldn't take it if the government wanted to draft me.

>
> Subject: FW: FW: Pin droppers

> When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked
> by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
> example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying,
> 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young
> men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our
> borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return
> is enough to bury those that did not return.'
> You could have heard a pin drop.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Then there was a conference in France where a number of
> international engineers were taking part, including French and
> American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into
> the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done?
> He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami
> victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?' A Boeing engineer
> stood up and replied quietly, 'Our carriers have three hospitals on
> board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear
> powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore
> facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,
> 000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand
> gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half
> a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to
> and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many
> does France have?'
> You could have heard a pin drop
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
> Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French
> Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
> large group of officers that included personnel from most of those
> countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped
> their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas
> Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He
> then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these
> conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the
> American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians,
> Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
> You could have heard a pin drop.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a
> tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris
> by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his
> passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before,
> monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting
> admitted that he had been to France previously. 'Then you should
> know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The
> last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible.
> Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !'
> The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he
> quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-
> Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any
> Frenchmen to show it to.'
> You could have heard a pin drop
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> What Is A Veteran? A Veteran -- whether active duty, discharged,
> retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life,
> wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America',
> for an amount up to and including his life. That is honor, and
> there are way too many people in this country today who no longer
> understand that fact.
>
>
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>

Browha,

Since you like Theodore Roosevelt (Your signature quote), here is another one.

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else."
-- Theodore Roosevelt

Along with Thomas Paine and many others, "my country is the world."

And I am a patriot - thought it might make me unpopular with others who are more concerned over their own little patch of it.

Yes it is fair to use patriotism to recruit military personnel. That is probably what the US military used after 9/11.