Calling or writing isn't enough. They know what we think.

[MADem]

148. Most of our young people have never served in the military.

They don't know a hand salute from a hand sanitizer.

This was true EVEN during the Bush years.

Did you not read the material I offered? Most kids can't pass the physical. They're too fat, they can't run. And way too many can't pass the test--they aren't smart enough. Even during the height of the Iraq War misadventure, even lowering standards to let overweight kids in, they didn't recruit very many as a percentage of the entire population. In fact, because they couldn't find enough "kids" who weren't too fat or not smart enough, they raised the eligible enlistment age and took in older candidates.

At the HEIGHT of the military recruiting effort, the military only comprised a minute percentage of the nation's population. I know this doesn't suit your argument, but it is the truth.

Very few people serve in uniform. Our youth didn't have the compassion driven out of them because they served in a war zone, because the vast majority of young people never got anywhere near a war zone, unless they were playing "Gears of War" or "World of Warcraft" or "Call of Duty." We don't have a "nation" of "militarized youth" unless you're including video gamers. We have a nation of youth who are good at video games and like Hot Pockets. The numbers don't lie.

Since you are apparently questioning my veracity, let me offer you this link--I think it makes what I am telling you very clear:

http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=66253

Just one-half of 1 percent of Americans served in uniform at any given time during the past decade -- the longest period of sustained conflict in the country’s history -- the report says. Meanwhile, as the military shrinks in size, the connections between military members and the broader civilian population “appear to be growing more distant,” the report says.
The report was based on surveys of more than 2,000 civilian adults and almost 1,900 veterans, more than 700 of whom served after 9/11.
Among the respondents, most said they have family members who are serving in the armed forces or have served in the past. However, older Americans were considerably more likely to have close military ties.
More than three-quarters of civilian adults ages 50 and older reported having an immediate family member -- a spouse, parent, sibling or child -- who served or serves in the military. For many, that service took place before the end of the draft and the introduction of the all-volunteer force in 1973.
Only 57 percent of civilian respondents ages 30 to 49 said they had an immediate family member who served. The percentage dropped to one-third among respondents ages 18 to 29.

Let's break it down another way: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-veterans-numbers/story?id=14928136#3

According to the 2010 Census, the population of the United States is 308,745,538. Including active duty, national guard and reserves, the population of Americans in uniform is 2,317,761, meaning that less than 1 percent, .75 percent to be exact, of the country's population is a member of the military.

While only a fraction of a percent of the country's population is currently serving, 7 percent of the population is veterans. There are 22,658,000 veterans in america today, just 8 percent of which are female.

As of September 30, 2011, there are about 1,981,000 living veterans of World War II, a war that more than 4 million Americans were deployed to fight. About 800 of those veterans die every day.

There is a growing disconnect between civilians and military personnel. Most Americans don't serve. It's not like the days of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, where conscription ensured a measure of shared sacrifice. It's less than ONE PERCENT of the population on active duty--and those "young people" of which you speak are staying away in droves, and at least three out of four that do bother to apply are NOT QUALIFIED. Can't say I blame them, but it's just not factually accurate to suggest otherwise.