First Observation

First of all, I want to let everyone know that I’m nothing more than an observer in this political world that we live in and I favor no party whatsoever. I am not a democrat nor a republican. I’m not liberal or conservative. I live my life doing what I THINK is best, both strategically and beneficially. My blogs will be my own opinions which are neither right or wrong.

So, in class we talked about Rhetoric vs. Reality and how it relates to army efforts in recruitment and war itself. I found an article through The Guardian that says that the army is accused of “glamorizing war and misleading youngsters of service”. According to the article, in Great Britain, “Potential recruits to the armed forces are given a misleading picture of military life…and are not always told that once they enlist, they have to stay in the forces for years.” A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense stated that the reports made were ill-informed and that, “It was made clear to recruits they could apply to leave up to six months after they enlisted, she said. Thereafter, they had to stay for four years.” She also continued by saying:

“Our recruitment practices avoid ‘glamorising war’ and we refute any allegation that they depict warfare as ‘game-like’. Anyone considering a career in the armed forces is presented with clear information and all aspects of service life are discussed in detail, following a sensitive recruitment process.”

For sure, one of these two allegations can be resolved. Recruiting officers can easily discuss the requirements and details of enlistment to the potential recruits. Now, as for the glamorization of war, well, in reality, it’s all propaganda. I’m sure they don’t “glamorize” war, they do, however, get into the male psyche. NO offense to women, but the military has always been a “masculine” thing. So, by tossing in words like “strength”, “pride”, and “power”, they can recruit young men with something to “prove”. I guess what people mean by “glamor” is by what is shown in movies or games. Things that sometimes the military has no control over. What they do have control over, though, is the advertisements that show on television and the internet. In my opinion, the “Army Strong” commercial is very “psychological” because of what I said before, by tossing in words like “strength”, “pride”, and “power”, they can recruit young men with something to “prove”. Kinda like getting a guy to buy a mid-sized 4 door sedan, you gotta make it look good with a tiny bit of exaggeration.

Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday January 7, 2008
The Guardian