These comments from former presidential candidate John Kerry have stirred up a lot of emotion. It’s a shame they haven’t stirred up more factual debate as well: Is it possible to get “stuck” in Iraq? And are soldiers really dumb?
On the first count, of course, we have an all-volunteer Army. People join the Army because it’s in their best interest; of course, poorer people will react more strongly to free education and military pay, but the fact remains they made the decision.
On the second count, I’d like to refer people to an article I wrote awhile back for the Northwestern Chronicle. It’s probably my favorite piece, so I recommend reading the whole thing, but the basic point is this: The military uses IQ as a criterion, and the median member in any branch of the Armed Forces has a higher IQ than the median American.
Insulting the military is a really, really stupid move for a politician, and it’s probably dumber to follow up with “I apologize to no one” and a lame “I was joking about Bush, not the soldiers” rationale. But the more important thing, something I doubt many commentators will mention, is that folks in the military really are intelligent.
Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.
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