| Folks:
This is the second in the “What’s Fair?” series.
The Post article, “Draft
Bill Stirs Debate Over The Military, Race, and Equity,” doesn’t
need a lot
of introduction.
And since the question of military service should be near
and dear to you
(and to your parents), you shouldn’t need a lot of
encouragement to read it.
The key quotes are:
“A Department of Defense study two years ago of the
armed services population
concluded that ‘both active and reserve recruits are
primarily from families
in the middle and lower middle socioeconomic strata.’ It
found that soldiers
from wealthier families were "not well-represented among
the backgrounds of
new recruits." Neither are poor households well-represented,
largely because
of the military's education and skill requirements.
"They tell you that the military is voluntary, but
that concept for blacks
and poor whites is like a rat being dropped in a maze," said
Ronald Walters,
a University of Maryland political science professor. "The
playing field
outside the military is not level. Life structures you into
certain choices,
and you wind up in the military."
“Black soldiers also reenlist in far greater numbers
than white troops,
according to a 1997 Department of Defense survey. Activists
say that is
because minorities face more obstacles to employment in a
society where
corporations discriminate against them.
“Additionally, the percentage of minorities enlisted
in the armed services
far exceeds the percentage of minorities in post-secondary
education colleges
and universities, according to the National Center for Education
Statistics.”
I like a debate that’s based on solid numbers, don’t
you? Here BOTH sides
have solid numbers. What could be better? What do you think?
Bob
Knisely
WebLink Citations:
1) Draft
Bill Stirs Debate By
Darryl Fears. Washington Post Friday, February 4, 2003;
Page A03
| 
