Military in the Inner City

         The birth of our nation was spawned from the revolutionary war. It was not fought just by the famous faces we are accustomed to seeing like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Mason. It was primarily fought, like most American wars, by the poor and destitute. It was on the backs of these men that "the men of marble" rode to victory. However, long forgotten are their sacrifices. Nash's The Unknown American Revolution asks us to view the American Revolution
         ...through the eyes of those not in positions of power and privilege, though the iconic founding            fathers are assuredly part of the story. In reality , those in the nether strata of of colonial                      society and those outside 'respectable' society were most of the people of revolutionary                        America. Without their ideas, dreams, and blood sacrifices, the American Revolution would                never have occurred.
         In today's world, we can still see are a fairly large disparity in the economic class of enlisted recruits. It's not to say that young men and women from wealthy families don't join the military. However, their motivation can be very different. For many poor youth the options of a better  and wealthier life are few and far between. Without a scholarship the prospect of getting out of the ghetto is slim. The military provides an opportunity for a middle class wage and job security. the question is, is this a symbiotic relationship, or a suckers bet? Being in the military is inherently dangerous. This is why most of the affluent members of society aren't rushing out  the door to sign up. This is also why it isn't the easiest decision for the poor kids to make.
         All branches of the military require a fairly constant stream of new recruits. This is particularly true during war time, which seems to be a constant in this day and age. There appears to be a heavier presence of recruiters in low income areas. Frequent visits from these recruiters to high schools in these areas are the norm as well. The promise of a better life is a powerful weapon for recruiters, and a glimmer of hope of a better life for some poor youths.
          To say that this isn't a symbiotic relationship seems foolish, but it's hard to find stories of heroes who come from poor neighborhoods to fought overseas in our wars. Why? The media glorifies affluent heroes like Pat Tillman, who quits a million dollar paying job to do the same as tens of thousands of poor kids. Again, why? It seems that there is a sense of denial that we have poverty in our country. Maybe our society just chooses to ignore it.
         Let's quit only looking at "the men of marble". As soon as we, as a society, can face the reality of poverty and look these men and women in the eye, the sooner we can give them their proper due.

Warfare Without Guns

           Over the last twenty-five years or so, the U.S. has been in a nearly constant state of war. Desert Storm in the nineties, Kosovo in ninety-nine, which is relevant because I was in the Navy at the time, then we all know about 9/11 and the constant war on terror we have been in since. As a society we have grown accustomed to war. There  is another type of war that we have grown accustomed to as well. A war that is fought without guns. This war really isn't fought with words either. It's a war that is fought with money. This new era of war is contended by corporations and monopolized companies who set the standards of what the foundation of the nation is to move forward unto. Those who accumulate an abundance of control over money are the so called the victors in this era. Money is power in todays standards weather most who do not believe it to be true, it is. Whomever controls this power has the ability to continue becoming wealthy by investment into projects or by buying out franchises and spreading more jobs amongst the general population who struggle with finding a job. Wall street is a crucial example of what protestors tend to stop or change wealthy entrepreneurs from sharing the nations wealth only to themselves. A movement called Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a crucial point in 2011 when tax payers bailed out the banks from a depression, only in return to financially gain in the uprising thus leaving that wealth only for the rich. "We Are the 99%, The Richest 1% of people in the U.S. control an ever increasing share of the nations wealth while the rest of the country has found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet."(“Occupy Wall Street.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.)

This is just the pinnacle of what the new era of warfare looks like, its not men and women armed with guns, it the injustice distribution of financial gains. This new era for the U.S. in the early 21st century, the 99% population is in a battle that does not intend to be supported by fairly economic wealth distribution amongst the nation but consumed by the greed of the 1% Entrepreneurs.

Stuck in the Mud

 Ferguson, Mo. has been a hotbed of debate over racial issues in the past few months, but it also brings up other discriminatory debates as well. The issue of class discrimination and gentrification are being closely examined in the area as well. The heavy police presence that we have all gotten to know recently brings up the debate of why such a heavy and aggressive force is necessary. Is there a bigger picture that needs to be examined? The police force will say that they are merely doing their jobs and putting bad guys in jail. That may be so, but a larger issue is at hand. A heavy police presence means more police stops. As Peter Coy puts it in his article Race, Class, And the Future of Ferguson, "...middle class drivers stopped by police routinely hire lawyers who knock speeding tickets down to non-moving violations; poorer drivers, mostly black, who can't afford lawyers, often find themselves caught in a downward spiral." Now, with a ticket that can't be paid, they face jail time and possibly losing their job. They are labeled as "chronic offenders". Thus the downward spiral begins. 

            The gentrification of these low income neighborhoods is getting some attention as well. “…as blacks move into a town, whites move out. The tax base shrinks, and blacks feel cheated that the amenities they came for quickly disappear” (Coy 2). As surrounding neighborhoods grow, it pulls business away from less fortunate ones. This causes a situation a lot like being stuck in the mud and unable to get out. Not only do property values drop, but the ability to get a good education becomes next to impossible. The mud gets heavier and heavier. 

American citizens live in a capitalist society where success is possible for anyone. Unfortunately it is a little more possible for some. When a society has rich, it will inevitably have poor. However, how the poor are treated can be something to strive for. Ferguson, has not only put social issues in our face, but slapped across them as well. “It says something good about the U.S. that the travails of one small suburb have riveted the nation’s attention. But change is hard” (Coy 3). Indeed it is. Maybe society can start with a helping hand as opposed to a foot on the head.

Works Cited

Coy, Peter; Collins, Keith; Ingold, David; Campbell, Elizabeth. Bloomberg Businessweek. 8/25/2014, Issue 4391, p12-14.              3p. , Database: Business Source Complete