at, they walk barefoot and weighed down with belongings, up and down the Lake Kivu region, in and out of the mountains, deep into the jungle.
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i
Article 46
Military-civilian schism widens, posing danger
4s fewer and fewer citizens experience military service, society increasingly is dividin into two groups who disdain each other. That s bad for democracy
Amy Waldman
Amy Waldman is an editor at The Washington Monthly.
The revelations of rape and sexual harassment at Aberdeen, Md., and other Army bases have drawn renewed and deserved attention to the military s difficulty in integrating women. But the stories about Aberdeen contain a detail illustrative of another side of the military: Soldiers found guilty of sexual liaisons with trainees may face charges of not just rape or sodomy but, if they are married, adultery as well.
Yes, adultery. As civilians from President Clinton to Jim Bakker make infidelity seem as common to modern marriage as the honeymoon, the armed services remain a bastion of traditional morality. In a society increasingly guided by  situational ethics  and moral relativism, the military evinces a steadfast commitment to right and wrong.
The difference is just one part of a broader schism between military and civilian views that could become dangerous. A military with little respect for amoral civilians, and civilian leadership that neither understands nor stands up to the military, is bad news for our democracy.
Forget the post-Vietnam military, when morale was low and desertion, illiteracy, drunkenness and drug abuse were rife.
In the 1980s, the armed services began raising their standards; today they accept applicants of only the highest caliber. Recruits must have at least a General Educational Development degree, and most have high school diplomas.
Equally impressive is the quality of soldiers and citizens the military produces. Members of the armed services practice not only rigid self-discipline but also unflagging selflessness. As society at large increasingly exalts individual rights, the military continues to prioritize responsibilities to your unit and, most of all, your country.
The armed services also have successfully addressed problems, most notably race, that still bedevil civilian society. Blacks in the military have attained leadership positions at a remarkable rate because the military practices the kind of affirmative action the rest of America should aspire to: Expand the pool of qualified applicants through recruitment or remedial education, then promote strictly on merit.
Yet few of us are learning the many lessons the military offers because the proportion of society with military experience has been shrinking dramatically. As a result, people in the military increasingly exude disdain for nonservers, whom they perceive as undisciplined, immoral and selfish. Civilians, in turn,
traffic in blatant stereotypes people as stupid or fascistic.
These stereotypes have currency because the lack of t perience is most glaring amt ica s decision makers am shapers. Bill Clinton is the r ous and troubling example server, but he has plenty of Close to 60% of men in the J veterans, but only a third of' (and only a quarter of the 105th Congresses freshmen), of Senate-confirmed Clinton s are veterans, and only 4% House staff. How many of 01 leaders  children have servt known, but by all accounts tf is small.
So who is serving? Mostl; dren of the poor and the wc middle classes. Of 220 Marine the 1983 Beirut bombing, Catholic and 64 were Baptis nominations most common to ing class. There were two Epi: and two Presbyterians. Of the cans killed in June s terrorist t Saudi Arabia, 10 were Roma and five were Baptist.
This class split is relatively Vietnam, military service we and honorable for elite and I youths alike. But as the Vie machine geared up, leaden
"6 by USA Today, a division of Gannett Company, Inc. Reprinted
236
From USA Today Newspaper, November 26,1996
by permission.
-les, notably educational deferexempting the well educated and
the war s character became ap-juent, elites began to see military jervice as immoral (not to mention dan- ous). By 1973, when we officially incited an all-volunteer force, the morality of nonservice had been ce-nented. And with the draft s end, the nldren or youthful versions of For-iie 500 executives, professors, con-jessmen and journalists no longer had  evade service; they simply could ig-we ft.
Pie trend away from service among elites has perpetuated itself. The Reserve Officer Training Corps, for exam-has long been a conduit for college students into military service. But in Vietnam s wake, student opposition prompted many colleges to phase out BOTC. In the 1970s and 1980s, ROTC
made something of a comeback. But then the fight over gays in the military again drove ROTC programs from many campuses, this time with the support of professors who had been students during the first round of purgings.
That military service is becoming a rarity bodes ill for many reasons. Most dangerous is the growing abstractness of the military in the eyes of civilian leaders who decide to deploy it. Deciding to send troops to war or trouble spots is never easy, but it is easier if none of those deciding have children at risk.
Ignorance about the military, meanwhile, encourages a romanticized view of its ability to solve any problem, whether the influx of drugs here or hunger in Somalia. At the same time, guilt about not serving can make civilian policymakers loath to challenge the military industrial complex s demands. Combine that with military leaders  growing lack of
46.	Military-Civilian Schism Widens
respect for their civilian commanders  consider the open sniping at Clinton in the ranks and the potential for an unhealthy concentration of power and hubris in the military becomes clear.
As with most problems, the civilianmilitary divide is easier to identify than remedy. Returning to the draft is politically and practically impossible: It would churn up far more recruits than a shrinking and technologically sophisticated military could train or use. But there are things we can do to encourage more military service. Expand, rather than curtail, ROTC programs, for example. Or institute a national-service lottery, with the option for civilian or military service. That, at least, would send the message that serving the country, whether by protecting its interests or caring for its elderly, is a task not for the few but for all of us.
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Understanding Cultural Pluralism
I he increase in racial violence and hatred on campuses across the country is manifested in acts ranging from hateful speech to physical violence. Strategies for dealing with this problem on a campus include increased awareness through mandatory ethnic studies, the empowerment of targets of violence, and fostering social and cultural interaction in festivals, folk-arts fairs, and literary and political forums. Systematic knowledge about ethnic groups has not been a central scholarly concern. In fact, mainstream literary, humanistic, and historical disciplines have only recently begun to displace sociological attention to the pathologies of urban ethnicity as the primary contact and source of information and interpretation of ethnic traditions. The historic role that voluntary groups have played in the reduction of bias and bigotry also needs to be revalued and revitalized. Voluntary associations can take part in a host of state and local initiatives to improve intergroup relations. Schools and parents can help children understand commonalities and differences among and within ethnic traditions and groups. The incorporation of everyday experiences of families and a formal pedagogy rooted in accurate and locally relevant resources are essential building blocks for understanding diversity.
The reemergence of the discussion of race, ethnicity, and intelligence that is included in the selections found in this unit reveals the embeddedness of interpretive categories that frame the discussion and analysis of race and ethnic relations. The enormity of the educational effort that is required as we attempt to move beyond the ethnocentrism and racism that bred hatred and destructive relationships between persons and communities is revealed in a variety of ways. Philosophic reflection on the epistemological issues associated with explaining human variety is rarely invited. However, it is precisely at this intersection of social philosophy and science that the crucial breakthroughs in understanding are likely to appear. The continual mismeasures of intelligence and misreadings of meaning indicate the long-term need for critical reformulation of the very idea of race.
At this time a variety of ways of measuring the development of race and ethnic relations are imposing the accuracy of their claims. Evidence cited by claimants to such authoritative knowledge and the attendant public criterion of credibility point to the expectation of a spirited
debate. This unit challenges us to rethink th tions, contradictions, and aspirations of socii ment models.
Looking Ahead: Challenge Questions
What signs have you seen of an increase in Semitic, anti-immigrant, and antiminority grou recent studies apparently confirm?
What explains the fact that large populati confirm that in the areas of ethnic, racial, an differences, Americans are more tolerant than
Why do teenagers commit 80 percent of all t acts?
Conflict in ethnic and race relations pose v lems for corporate and governmental institutic
What media images of race and ethnicity nant?
What avenues are available for the authen resources of ethnic communities and traditions
How can multiethnic expressions of traditior with the breakdown of community and the tendencies related to individual and person< ment?
How can the promotion of positive prototyi nicity ever become as powerful as negative st.
How can dialogue among conflicting parties lemmas that are essential to technological and change enable us to share and shape the burde change?
Contrast local knowledge with national and ia as sources of information on race and ethi Why should advocates of multicultural de' and diversity argue for the following: (1) Fair protection under the law; (2) The compilation ' accurate data on the ethnic composition of the population; (3) Corporate and governmental I  are focused on issues that do not exacerbate among persons because of ethnicity and race.
are the benefits if ethnic groups meel with other ethnic groups and engage in friend your agenda" meetings?
Who, if anyone, benefits from the persistence tension and conflict?
238
UNIT 9
Article 47
So You Want to B
Color-Blind
Alternative Principles for Affirmative Action
Peter Schrag
Peter Schrag is editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee.
By now, there s not much doubt that when Americans are asked yes-or-no questions about the legitimacy of race preferences in public-sector hiring, contracting, and education, the answer is likely to be a flat no. Roughly 60 percent of Californian voters say that they support the proposed California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), which would prohibit all consideration of race or gender in public employment, education, and contracting; only 35 percent oppose it. Those findings are consistent with a decade of other survey data showing overwhelming opposition, among both men and women and among member of both political parties, to race and gender preferences. They suggest relatively few Americans will be troubled, and many will be delighted, when Newt Gingrich and other Republicans try to write prohibitions against contract set-asides and other minority preferences into the federal budget this summer. By next year, when CCRI is expected to be on the California ballot, the undoing of race preferences could become a political and social avalanche. The people who will be living under that avalanche are called libera