The Phoniness of the Anti-War Movement

There was an interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times today by former Congressman Larry Pressler, a Vietnam veteran. While against the war, when drafted he served in combat. However, he is disgusted by the sheer phoniness of many who dodged the draft:

In private conversations with my classmates, I was told over and over that they didn't want to serve in the military because it would hold up their careers. To the outside world, though, many would proclaim they weren't going because they were opposed to the war and we should end all wars. Eventually they began to believe their "idealism" was superior to that of those who did serve. They said that it was courageous to resist the draft — something that would have been true if they had actually become conscientious objectors and gone to prison.

Too many in my generation did a deeply insidious thing. And they got away with it. Big time. Poorer people went to war. The men who didn't were able to get their head start to power.

This is pretty strong stuff. It's very similar to opposition to the current war. During the outbreak of the Iraq War, many students marched out of classes in "protest." It happened at Albany High. In reality, probably half to 3/4 of those students just wanted to get the hell out of class-- especially considering they were going to Albany High. Much of the anti-war movement is formed in cynicism of things not yet understood by either the young, the dumb, or the perpetual pseudo-hippy.