Old soldiers to the front: The resentful anger of aging males must be put to good use

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6726

Old soldiers to the front: The resentful anger of aging males must be put to good use
by Jaime O'Neill | Apr 12 2007

— this essay originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle

In America's war on terror, the time-honored tradition requiring young people to do the fighting and dying needs to be seriously re-evaluated.

Because most of the fighting now being done requires far less marching than was once needed, it is only reasonable to propose that perhaps we have arrived at a time in the history of human struggle when the old people can do the fighting.

After all, how much youthful vigor does it require to fire lightweight weapons from the back of an armored-personnel carrier? How much strength does it take to press the trigger on a grenade launcher, or to redirect the turret on a tank? When soldiers are being driven to the various scenes of conflict, why is it necessary for soldiers to be young?

And, because youth is no longer the requisite quality for struggling, and because the U.S. military is having difficulty finding enough young people willing to fight and die in this struggle, it would, therefore, be wise to consider that vast pool of potential warriors at the other end of the age spectrum.

Tapping that pool of warriors should be easy. Aging males are easily the most gung-ho of all warriors.

From Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove right on down to the guys who write letters to the editors of the nation's newspapers, the fiercest warriors are men over 50, men with expanding waistlines and receding hairlines who would tear the enemy a new one if only they could get up off the sofa in less than three tries.

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[Little Wing]

1. They even come equipped with their own urban assault vehicles

[hlthe2b]

6. LOL

Yeah, go get em, Rush, INSHannity, Beck and all the others!

[BOSSHOG]

2. Here, Here, I'll drink to that

and no doubt the limbaughs of the world, those brave warriors; the real defenders of the constitution will jump on this opportunity. What better way to support the troops then to join them.

[Monkeyman]

3. YEP

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. marvelous idea!

:D

[Demeter]

5. Meahwhile, Back on the Home Front; the Old Women Will Be Spring Cleaning

House, Senate and Oval Office, Federal, State and Local. Top to bottom.

[babylonsister]

7. And they'll do a much better job of it! nt