INDIANAPOLIS - While the Sept. 11 attack on the United States has elicited an outpouring of patriotic sentiment, the flotsam and jetsam of cultural degradation also remain apparent.
Many young people have volunteered for military service; in fact, the number is at record levels since the volunteer service was put into effect. Yet it is noteworthy that only a small part qualify.
Uncle Sam is far more selective than the signs that once read "Uncle Sam wants you." According to military officials new recruits cannot:
- Be a single parent with custody of a child.
- Be overweight or pregnant, or get pregnant until training is complete.
- Be on any medication, including Prozac, inhalers or AIDS drugs.
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- Have used marijuana more than 10 times or ever used cocaine or similar drugs.
- Have tattoos above the neck or on hands; or tattoos considered racist, obscene or gang related.
- Have braces.
- Have any drug charges, violent crime conviction or domestic charges; or be on probation.
It turns out that in establishing these sensible criteria the military excludes a substantial portion of the recruitable population. Fortunately this is a war different from, say, World War II, when 12 million men were mobilized for the war effort. It will be a war fought with fewer troops and on many fronts, including the financial world.
Yet it is instructive that many of those who might be considered for a fighting force are casualties of a degraded culture. Since 30 percent of all children born in the United States are illegitimate and three-quarters of black children are born out of wedlock, it isn't surprising that many single parents are excluded from the pool of military volunteers.
It is also not surprising that many recruits are excluded for being overweight since obesity is a national scourge with estimates that one in three Americans has this condition. Moreover, there appears to be a correlation between obesity and enlarged hearts leading to ventricular hypertrophy with even very young people.
With recreational drug use prominent among high schoolers and medications like Prozac liberally dispensed even for "unhappiness," let alone depression, it is hard to find youths who haven't indulged in some drug consumption.
If one relies on present cultural examples, tattoos are in - a form of appearance enhancement if one can believe such basketball players as Dennis Rodman and Alan Iverson, and a host of rap performers.
I am not suggesting by offering these examples that the military should modify its standards for selection. On the contrary, the criteria are valid and should be enforced. What those excluded from service represent is the extent to which perverse ideas of behavior have penetrated American life. Moreover, the number of youths who do not qualify for military service is a reminder of popular culture's influence. That fast-food mania, getting high and sexual promiscuity are far too often the national reality. That reality has had its effect.
It is hard to know whether the aftermath of Sept. 11 will launch a cultural revolution, not withstanding all the talk about one. But what can be said is that sex, drugs and self-flagellation have had their influence.
There was a time when men were rejected from military service because of flat feet or an irregular heartbeat. But now rejection is related more to cultural phenomena and less to physical conditions.
Yes, Americans are healthy but they are not fit and they are not sound. Perhaps an elite that engages its sexual proclivities without regard to consequences is to blame. Or maybe its film directors who portray characters who think it's cool to get high. Or the problem may be related to those celebrities who promote fast foods, even though they wouldn't be caught dead biting into one of those fatty burgers.
In the end, the military is saying too many youngsters aren't fit for service and finding those who fit the bill is a real challenge. As I see it, either the country shapes up or the ability to defend the nation will significantly diminish. Surely that does call for a cultural revolution.
by Herbert London
Knight Ridder-Tribune Columnist
Herb London is president of the Hudson Institute and the John M. Olin professor of humanities at New York University. Readers may write to him at the Hudson Institute, 5395 Emerson Way, Indianapolis, Ind. 46226.
