Ar_home_b_search
 

This past Saturday night my girlfriend and I went to see the Kid Rock concert here in St. Louis.  At the start of the concert I found myself in an interesting ethical dilemma.  What happened was this;

Prior to the concert beginning the MC started talking about Kid Rock's visits to Iraq and his support of the troops.  He then asked everybody to give a hand to "the United States Marine Corp St. Louis recruiting station".  

Now, I'm all for supporting our troops.  Having spent 8 years in the Navy, I understand that it is possible to support the troops without supporting the war.  Our soldiers and sailors are doing their jobs and even if you don't agree, which I don't, with the war, they deserve our respect and support.

So, here I was at a concert.  In my girlfriend's employer's luxury box with several other employees of her company when the MC requests that we stand up and show our support for these soldiers.  I started to stand and applaud until he said it again....."From The St. Louis Marine Corp Recruiting Station" 

I had to sit back down.  I was torn.  I do support our troops, but I DON'T support this war and I DON'T support the mission of the recruiters who have to go out and convince our young people to join their service in order to fight a war that, in my belief, is being primarily fought to enrich the oil companies, as well as the rest of the military industrial complex. 

I looked around and I was the only person that I saw sitting.  I felt bad.  My girlfriend was obviously torn too.  Here she was at the concert as a guest of her employer and while she didn't know any of the other people there, her sitting back down next to me could reflect upon her.  

It was a close decision to make.  In the end I couldn't add my voice to what I thought was a propaganda ploy on the part of Kid Rock and the United States Marine Corp. As I sat there I thought about it.  What if there was some impressionable 17 or 18 year old in that audience who was in the process of getting carried away to become cannon fodder?  My and Kathy's silence couldn't be heard, but maybe...just maybe our silence caused the noise to not reach the level where that kid would be carried away enough to make that call the next day to the recruiter.

I can only hope!   

 

R.B. "Bob" Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

 

Bob Mitchell is the president of ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc., St. Louis' largest discount/full-service real estate and mortgage company.  To find out more about Bob, ValueList or our flat-fee listing program please feel free to visit our web page, valuelistre.com  

 
 

10 Comments on Ethical Diliemma; To Stand Or Not

FEB
18
2008
 To be homest, I don't know what I would have done. Good for you to stick to your beliefs.
3:22pm • #1

It sounds like the recruiting station was one of the sponsors of the concert and was getting their few minutes of publicity.  I would have stood up, as a show of support for all active and retired military personnel.  Iraq War or not, the United States military still requires men & women to serve and protect our country -- and for that, they deserve our utmost respect.
3:23pm • #2
937,515 Points 361 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
Bob, Both of our boys are Marines. One "ex" one active. I am not for the war in Iraq but certainly support our troops. Your situation was a tough call. You just have to with your gut.
3:29pm • #3
I'm with you, Bob.  I'm afraid I would have been sitting.  If that reflects poorly on me, so be it. My son is in the Air Force.  He's been to Iraq twice.  Since he's career, it's possible he'll go a third time.  And for what?
3:39pm • #4
147,472 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Zen:  I was torn....I REALLY don't support this war.....I think that it was started for some very bad reasons and that the American people and the worlds people were out and out MISLEAD and lied to regarding the reasons that we went to war.  That said, even if they were recruiters, they were still soldiers and  deserve our respect. 

That said, it was a recruiting tool and I don't think that it's right to try and confuse the respect that people have for our military with their recruiting goals.  Thanks for the comment!

Christopher:  I agree with you to a certain extent....the individuals on that stage deserved my respect, but I thought it was in bad taste to purposefully confuse that respect with their recruiting aims.  As I mentioned, I was torn.

Bryant:  I respect the decisions that your sons made to join the Marines...At one point in my life I made that same decision and understand the desire to be a US Marine.  What bothered me most was that I viewed this as a recruiting ploy that purposefully distorted what they were doing...imagine that, a recruiter bullshixting someone?  Thanks for the comment and Godspeed to your son who is in Iraq.

 

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. 

 

 
4:06pm • #5
1 Featured Post
I will always support our troops. But this war is just not worth the loss of life or the money spent.I agree our motives for being there are lame...
5:58pm • #6
FEB
19
2008
147,472 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Sharon, thanks for the comment!  People can say that it's not about the oil and to a certain extent they would be right.  It's about the PRICE of oil!  If there is turmoil in the middle east, then oil prices go up.  That means that every barrel pumped in the North Sea goes up....pumped in Alaska goes up....TEXAS oil goes up too!

 

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. 
9:44am • #7

Bob,

As a supporter of the war and our troops, I would have stood.  But your 8-years of service to our Country in the Navy certainly give you a perspective that I simply do not have.  And I would go so far as to say that your service lends far more credence to your opinions and beliefs than one might find in mine.  I applaud you for remaining true to yourself.  The fact of the matter, Bob, is that without people like you who have served and those presently serving this Country, we might not be free to have the debate of whether "To Stand or Not."  So, thank you.    

9:50am • #8

I don't think supporting a recruiter is the same as supporting the war.  The recruiter is still a soldier.  Their efforts continue rather there is a war or not.  They along with all non deployed personel are all considered troops in my eyes. 

There is (or used to be) a NASCAR sponcered by the Army.  Its a recruiting effort.  The Blue Angels are nothing more than a recruiting effort by the USAF (Very impressive tool).  Watching either event does not mean you support to war. 

 
9:55am • #9
147,472 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Steve:  Thank you for your kind words....Honestly, I don't know that the time that I spent in the Navy gives me any special rights in terms of expressing my opinion on this issue.  Maybe a little bit in that I was actually in during Desert Shield and Desert Storm (I remained stateside by the hair on my chinny chin chin!) and while I was waiting to be deployed I did a lot of reading and research on our country's role and conduct in the middle east.

The facts of the matter are pretty much the same in both that war and this one, we are there because of oil or more precisely, because of the price of oil.  If Iraq and the middle east in general didn't have oil do you think we would have cared that Saddam was a tyrant?  WMD's?  Hell, North Korea was bragging that they had a nuke and we didn't do anything about them!  They then bragged that they had a missile capable of hitting the west coast of the US, did we do anything about them?  Nope!

One day I read a story buried deep in the international news section of my local paper that 100,000 people had been killed in something like a three week period in some African country....not only killed, hacked to death with machetes!  Were we interested in over-throwing that brutal dictator?  Not at all.  If that country had oil, think we would have been more interested?  I think so.

Now, before you assume that I'm a pacifist, let me tell you that I'm not.  Maybe oil is worth fighting over if it means maintaining our way of life.  I don't think so, but I could be wrong.  I do know that if this is the case that we should just come out and say it.  Let people make their own decisions as to support the effort or not.  Don't bullshxt people by leading them to believe that this war is about establishing democracy or protecting ourselves from terrorists.  It's not.  It's the oil!

Chad:  You hit my issue on the head!  That recruiter IS a soldier and deserves my respect.  Also, recruiting is a required part of having armed services, BUT I have to admit that I have a problem with them taking advantage of the elevated testosterone levels of a rap concert, cloaking their true purpose in a veil of patriotism in order to send some 18 year old over to possibly sacrifice their life in order to prop up the price of oil.

You're right though....it's not much different that the Blue Angels or the Army sponsoring a drag race....I guess where I see the difference would be when they blurred the line between it being out and out recruiting vs. using the patriotism in order to recruit...fine line, but I think that there is one there!  Thanks for the comments!

 

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

 

10:54am • #10

What does the graphic say?

Leave a response…

(optional)
What does the graphic say?
 

Bob Mitchell - Realtor St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO

More about me…

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

Address: 4251 Martyridge, St. Louis, MO, 63129

Office Phone: (314) 231-5478

Email Me

A blog about St. Louis real estate and about real estate in general from a guy who has been selling real estate and doing mortgages since 1984. I'm also the owner of ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. a discount real estate company serving St. Louis since 1995!


Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog