by Jon Letman
How old is old enough for students to be approached by military recruiters? High school? Junior high? Fourth grade? How about ten weeks into kindergarten?
Last week at the dinner table, my five-year-old son announced blithely, “Soldiers came to school today.” He then added, “They only kill bad people. They don’t kill good people.”
He made the announcement with the same levity he uses in recalling the plot line of Frog and Toad or a Nemo video.
My wife and I looked at each other incredulously.
“Soldiers came to school? What do you mean?” I asked.
He repeated himself and then I remembered – it was “Career Day” at school. My son mentioned a bus driver too, but it was the soldier who stuck out in his mind. When my wife asked if the soldier was cool, he nodded yes.
The soldier had given my five-year-old a gift. From his yellow backpack, he produced a six-inch, white, plastic ruler with big, bold, red letters reading “ARMY NATIONAL GUARD” next to a waving American flag and below that www.1-800-GO-GUARD.com.
So, now we know the answer to the above question. Read more.Φ
Jon Letman is a freelance writer in Hawaii. He writes about politics, society, culture and conservation on the island of Kauai. He can be contacted at jonletman@hawaiian.net.
Photo: www.goworldtravel.com/jan06/jonletman.jpg and http://www.puppetgov.com/wp-content/2008/11/recruiting-child.jpg
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