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December 15, 2004
Imus the Demagogue
Taking Jenn to school this morning I got frustrated enough to "have" to change the station.
Imus had a Republican congressman on, and started talking about how the standard death benefit for a soldier killed in Iraq is $12,000 (for $20 a month a he/she can up this to $250,000). Using the "Is that fair?" and "How much is a soldier worth" type arguments, he was berating the legistlator.
I was in the Navy. I joined knowing I could get killed. I can't say I knew whether there was any death benefit at all, but enlisted regardless.
Anybody who joins the military does so knowing they too could get killed. Whether they know what their death benefit would be, that is their choice to pursue and accept (or not). Nobody in an all volunteer army is forced to enlist.
Is $12,000 "too little?" Of course it is...but the government shouldn't change it. For those who think it is unacceptable -- don't join the armed forces, don't marry someone who is in the armed forces, or pay the $20 a month -- but don't complain after the fact.
Really, what is the life of one person worth? Could we really afford to have the government pay it every time someone dies in our service?
A nation cannot be successfully run by emotions.
Posted by alan at December 15, 2004 8:26 AM
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