When I was in college, I remember seeing tables set up throughout the student union building advertising college organizations, armed forces and credit cards.
“Sign up and you’ll receive a free T-shirt, phone card or water bottle,” the signs would say to entice students. We didn’t have enough money to buy a phone card let alone clothes. Why not sign up?
Advertising is important, especially when it comes to supporting a war. On March 6, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the government can force colleges to open their campuses to military recruiters. Federal law requires universities to give the military the same access as other recruiters or they will be denied federal money. For colleges, that would mean about $35 billion a year.
Colleges and universities aren’t alone. The No Child Left Behind Act requires secondary schools to provide military recruiters access to students’ names, addresses and telephone listings.
To me, denying federal funds unless schools provide students’ personal information seems a bit like bullying.
Anthony Nieuwendam, ROTC naval science instructor at Freedom High School, teaches history, geography and military customs to educate students about the armed forces. While he doesn’t recruit students to the armed forces, military recruiters are available on campus if students are interested in joining.
Nieuwendam said he thinks students should be required to serve in the military for two years just so they can develop more of a sense of pride for their country, which he believes is missing among youth.
I understand Nieuwendam’s argument and agree with it to a point. The national pride among the youth of our country has gone down, but what bothers me is all of the hype and propaganda for the war and joining the armed forces.
Commercials show soldiers smiling heroically in uniforms as they study in a classroom or stand beside a helicopter. I’m sure soldiers do some of those things, but there is also blood, tears and psychological trauma that is not shown in the commercials.
In college, I got wrapped up in the idea of possibly joining the military. The chance to travel and have my college tuition covered sounded very appealing. Then, my sister reminded me we’re fighting a war. True, I would have great opportunities, but I could also have had the chance to be killed.
With names such as “The War on Terror” and “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” the government seems to be using the same advertising strategies to sell this war that maybe a deodorant company might use to get us to buy its products. But I don’t buy the hype. It would seem more appropriate to call it “Operation We Need Oil” or “The War of Revenge for Sept. 11.”
Don’t get me wrong. I truly support and appreciate the efforts of the soldiers in Iraq, but I don’t support the media ploys and advertising campaigns to get us to support the war or join the armed forces.
Call me a hippie if you want to, but it bothers me that the commercials and propaganda for the war and the armed forces use the same advertising techniques as cold medicines or energy drinks. The only difference is they fail to clearly mention the harmful effects of their “product.”