The Military

I remember being a little kid and thinking that my grandfathers stories about his experiences in the navy were the coolest things on earth. I used to think that I wanted to go into the military, but then I entered a stage in my life when I was obsessed with peace and thought that the armed forces and the violence that they take part in, weren't something that I wanted to be a part of. It wouldn't be accurate to say that I "outgrew" that mindset, rather what happened is that lately my thinking on the military evolved. While I'm adamantly against war, I have grown to have an understanding that there is a big difference between the nations that wage war, and the individuals that have elected to commit themselves to those nations. People join the military for a variety of reasons, but from what I can tell, a sense of patriotic duty is one of the most prominent reasons. Out of everyone I know who entered into the armed forces, not one of them said that it lowered their quality of life. Rather they have all said that it gave them structure, discipline, and direction, which are traits that I could really use at this point in my life. However, I've come to realize that these aren't things that are solely found in the armed services. They are traits that we can learn to cultivate for ourselves no matter what path we take in life, the military is simply a means of efficiently forcing them. I'm still on the fence about whether or not I would elect to enter into the military, it's surely not a decision to be made lightly, but I'm at the stage of my life where it's one of the questions I should have on my radar. I see the military as an institution that brings order into the lives of the individuals that choose to enter it, and that's something that I'm missing in my life. Whether that would be the experience I would have or not is the big question.