In June of 1973, making good on a campaign promise to end the Draft, it was President Richard Nixon who ended conscription.
Many believe President Nixon suspected that an end to the Draft was a probable way to undermine the anti-Vietnam war movement. Needless to say, there was opposition from Congress and the Department of Defense to this drastic reality which resulted in an all-volunteer military force. The resultant confusion was born of an American attitude which equated the responsibility to defend the United States as just another optional volunteer project.
This move was very damaging to the American male psyche.
Presently, not only do we have Congressman and even presidents without any military experience, making military decisions that affect our entire planet, we also have three generations of men who have never been to boot camp.
Many of these men live in their own worlds where the definitions of such words as "emergency," "life or death," "crisis" and "I did nothing wrong" begs a dictionary because the actual meaning of these words differ enormously from their personal understanding.
Denise Hunt tears up as she finds out the jury is deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge for Michael Dunn outside of the Duval County Courthouse the jury enters the fourth day of deliberations, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, in Jacksonville, Fla. Large crowds gathered outside the courthouse to wait for a verdict in the Dunn trial. Dunn was convicted Saturday of attempted murder in the shooting death of a teenager during an argument over loud music, but jurors could not agree on the most serious charge of first-degree murder. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)
Michael Dunn is one such young man. Michael Dunn took the stand in his own defense. Over and over again, he reiterated, “I did nothing wrong.”
Michael Dunn shot and killed an unarmed 17-year-old boy sitting inside a vehicle at a gas station. He attempted to kill every person in that vehicle. After two years of contemplation, confined to a jail cell awaiting trial, Michael Dunn still believes he "did nothing wrong."
If Michael Dunn had been drafted, if he had gone to boot camp, he would’ve learned what is and what is not, an emergency.
Loud music is not an emergency. Loud music is not a crisis. Loud music is not a life or death situation. Loud music is merely loud music. Michael Dunn's innate sense that he would have acquired from boot camp would've kicked in and told him: No action required, move on.
Instead, Michael Dunn created a scenario in his own mind; a scenario in which four teenage boys playing loud music suddenly became the enemy - out to kill Michael Dunn, a one-man army.
Defendant Michael Dunn is brought into the courtroom just before 5 p.m., where Judge Russell Healey announced that the jury was deadlocked on charge one and have verdicts on the other four charges as they deliberate in the trial of Dunn, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, for the shooting death of Jordan Davis in November 2012. Dunn is charged with fatally shooting 17-year-old Davis after an argument over loud music outside a Jacksonville convenient store. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack, Pool)
Next, this software developer fell deeper into his own mind and became trapped in some sort of video game. In his game, you shoot blindly at the red vehicle and just keep shooting as it tries to flee. Evidently, he racked up enough points to earn a pizza.
If he had shot one of the gas pumps and blown up the gas station, or if one of the bullets had travelled through the red vehicle and killed or maimed a bystander, how many additional points could he have earned? Would such a scenario be Michael Dunn’s understanding of collateral damage? Would he still insist he “did nothing wrong?”
In a jailhouse phone call, Michael Dunn referred to himself both as the “victor,” and as a “victim.”
What exactly was he declaring victory over?
Amy Barath strives to present an unbiased, common-sense opinion, unhampered by a particular political idealogy. Let Amy know if you're in her corner: amybarath@yahoo.com
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