n. [obligatory short subject-line rant]
While the military doesn't really pay recruits and most enlistees a "living wage", the living expenses for enlisted personnel are much lower than the average living expenses of civilians in their same age bracket.
For those who register but don't enlist, well, I am making the claim that they, too, are adults. As such, they have to face the fact that they are choosing a career path where, to begin, they will be facing finacnial hardships that enlistees won't be facing. It's a bit of a trade-off: the freedom of civilian life also entails the freedom to starve; the security of having the armed forces looking out for one in a "big brother" sort of way entails the harsh realities of military service. Either way, a person will have made his or her choice, and will be living with the consequences thereof.
Those left "in the cold," so to speak, will be those who haven't chosen either way. They may complain that they haven't the same opportunities as those who have chosen enlistment or registration, but the solution to their seeming "discrimination" is painfully simple; they simply have to choose to step up to the plate just like those about whose "priveleges" they are complaining--register, or enlist, and prove they are adult, thereby. |
