The Marines and Injustice

Lastnight in class we watched a video called, "Anybody's Son Will Do." It was about the social injustice of bringing boys into the marine corps to be trained as soldiers to fight and to kill. These boys are impressionable because they are young and in a sense they are brain washed to believe that they are invincible and strong to kill and destroy. This video was based on a group of boys brought into training for the marines in the United States.

After the video everyone began talking about what they thought about what they saw. Most people were angry that these boys were being brainwashed and yelled at all day. They were angry that these boys were beginning to believe that they could fight and kill someone if the need arose, even though it is not a humans instinct to kill automatically. I suppose one the things that upset everyone the most was the fact that if these boys weren’t able to “live up” to what being a soldier meant, they would be considered a failure.

So while everyone was ranting against how these boys are under so much pressure to be something that they were not, I felt as though everyone is under pressure to be someone or something that they may not want to be.

In life we have to jump over a number of hurdles to “get to the top”. We need to be strong and put on a “front” so that we don’t appear afraid or weak. People tell us what they expect from us through their actions and we accordingly have to step into that role. How different are we from those boys that we had watched?

Furthermore I began to think that those boys were better off. They were part of something, they belong to an organization. Most civilians don’t, ordinary people have to work alone to keep their self worth up. They don’t have a group to belong to, and some of them don’t even have a dream.

I grew sad as I sat in class listening to us discuss. I felt sad that those boys we saw wanted to join the marines because they were part of something bigger than themselves, even if it was negative. It scared me because I began to realize that people want to feel important and belong, even if it means getting “brainwashed” or killing other people.

Don’t we all want something to live for? I could suddenly understand why someone would want to be part of the marines, the military etc. Sometimes we don’t know what to do with our lives, and sometimes it would be easier to be part of something where they form your thinking, no matter how screwed up their theology or philosophy on life might be. Perhaps living under leaders that mould you and control you is easier than trying to figure life out on your own.

I want to be part of something more. And I know that I am part of something more…but there are times I forget, and times I don’t know what to do with my life; times that I see a movie like this and realize that we are all searching for the meaning of life. We are all searching and waiting to belong.