Military In Sports

            A friend of mine joined the marines the year we graduated high school. He talked about how great and honorable of a decision he had made. I remember being jealous of such a great act, and wished I had made a similar decision. He has been part of the military for a year and a half now and I receive a call from him every few weeks. He has only voiced it a few times, but he has talked about how much he regrets his decision and how he would have thought differently had he been told exactly what he was in for. I feel as if the military involvement in the media could have easily swayed his opinion on what the actions of a marine consisted of.

            When we see a marine or anyone in the military during a sporting event they are being honored for something great they have done or patted on the back for their service. I respect everyone in our military, but, had I not known what some of my military friends believe, I would have assumed most people in the military feel the same honor we see on TV or at a sporting event. I feel as if sports glamourize the idea of honor.

            There is really no way to fix this. Now that I understand that I am in a society trying to convince teens to join the military in every segment of their life, I've already passed the target age. I feel like they have hit the target in the media so well that we can either make it past believing a lie or believe the lie and join based on such a honorable notion.