I posted on this thread while it was in the activism forum, but was unaware of the policy that stated you cant debate in that forum.... so here are my posts... I figured I'd repost these here!
"I'm a military wife as well.... and my heart crumbled just a little.
All I have to ask the OP is this....
would you be just as upset if one of those safari guys came and showed exotic animals?
What about a police officer with his dog?
A Doctor with his stethoscope?
A Dentist with some toothbrushes and floss?
What about a clown and his juggling act?
What about the local high school marching band?
After all, all of those would be "indoctrinating" your child as well with how awesome a police officer/doctor/dentist/clowns' lives are.
Just because a military does a job that isn't always pretty, doesn't mean that their isn't a necessary and honorable side to it as well. "
After this, someone (I wont post their name in case they don't want it here) posted with this reply:
My problem with this comparison is that in the above examples, the professional would be showing the children what his or her ACTUAL job entails. A dentist works with teeth. Primarily. That's the thing he or she is paid to do. Safari people work with exotic animals all day. As their job. Clowns are hired to juggle.
When my kids see presentations by professionals who are advertising their career choice, I expect those careers to be truthfully represented. Is a soldier's PRIMARY job to play cartoon music?
If my kid thinks about things he or she is interested in, and decides her or she might want to pursue a career in playing music, I don't think the military should be the first thing on his or her mind as a career in which the people are payed to play music.
I'm all in favor of people discussing career choices with my kids, but I'm not a fan of bait-and-switch games, in which a profession is presented as being all about something, when in reality it's all about something else entirely.
To which I replied with this:
"Does the police officer arrest a crack addict during his presentation? Does he get shot at by some criminal?
Does the dentist perform a root canal in his presentation? How about a tooth pulling?
Does the doctor have a patient die on an ER table during his presentation? Does he give them a vaccine during the presentation which has all sorts of toxic ingredients in it?
Does the safari guy get bitten by a snake, eaten by a lion, or stung through the heart by a stingray in his presentation?
The army has musicians which consequently, all they do is play music. There are plenty of different jobs in the military.... they all are not "cold blooded killers" like some people make them out to be. Each soldier has a different job. The "soldiers" your child saw were indeed musicians as classified by their job description for the Army.
Also, FWIW.... let's say you have a child who is musically gifted. I am certain, if they really want to pursue a career in music, the Army will not even cross their mind. Perhaps a school like Julliard would be at the top of their list.
The point is that nearly every human endeavor has a darker, negative, or less glamorous side. Any group doing a presentation shows the best of what it is. Common sense.
Not to mention it sounds to me like any other random group of musicians showing their musical talent for entertainment purposes. This time is was a group from the ROTC. Why read some ominous meaning into something where there is none?"
