Tornado Alley (PROG)

[blackhawks]

Disagree to your heart's content, but refute the article or my opinion you cannot.

But despite conservatives’ ostensible emphasis on history and tradition, their refrain is deeply inaccurate: The armed forces have, by necessity, always served as a petri dish for broader cultural change in America — even before the country’s inception.

That is the key point. Every step of the way, in a democracy, the military mirrors what happens in a free society.

Germany in two wars thought that we were a nation of mongrels who wouldn't be able to get ourselves together to fight effectively.

Authoritarians usually mistake strength for weakness.

Every step of our way the same arguments about morale, group cohesiveness and military effectiveness were marshalled by conservatives against integration of minorities into the armed forces.

As you read, it was used against blacks, then women and then gays.

There is zero evidence that any integration of any of those minorities has impaired military effectiveness.

Your author produced no evidence of such. Rafter, distaste and discomfort. Always the fallback positions for the too easily frightened and unprincipled.

Israel's integration of women and gays into their military has also produced no evidence of operational ineffectiveness.

A universal service martial society like that one would be the very last one to use their military for social experimentation in the face of existential threat.

What you overlook is that those people WANT to serve, whereas too many chest thumping righty chicken hawks don't serve; cant be bothered to walk their truculent talk.

So, my opinion and that of the author is supported by history and evidence. Yours? Not so much.