AWOL....The book

Was being discussed on C-Span this morning. The Royals send their kids to war. WHY do our wealthy and leadership not expect their kids to serve. The argument is an old one BUT after Iraq one that needs to be re-opened. It is just unfair to ask kids and their family to make the ultimate sacrifice because of their socioeconomic level when the rest are going shopping.This war would have been entirely different if the wealthy and leadership were waving to their kids as they shipped out. IMHO, Iraq would never have happened.

http://www.roth-douquet.com/reviews.shtml

Why aren’t the rich and the famous in uniform? In past wars, actors, musicians, athletes, and the privileged served in the armed forces. A new book, ‘AWOL,’ explores why this isn’t the case anymore


Yogi Berra did it. So did Dr. Seuss, Humphrey Bogart, and John F. Kennedy. They all served in the armed forces. Today it’s much less common for the rich or famous to serve, but that wasn't always the case. During W.W. II, Jimmy Stewart and Clark Bable both volunteered. In the 50's, Elvis Presley was drafted and spent two years in the army. And after September 11, Pat Tillman left the NFL to become an army ranger. In their new book, “AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service — and How It Hurts Our Country,” Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer, would like to see more class integration of the military.

Both have a personal stake in their arguments: Roth-Douquet is a military wife and Schaffer’s son is a marine. While both would like younger Americans to sign up for national civilian service, they offer different solutions to military service. Schaffer proposes a lottery draft and Roth-Douquet suggests the military “convince” more people to sign up. The authors were invited on “Today” to discuss their book on Memorial Day. Read an excerpt:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12990432/