Voices from the Military

Frank Schaeffer, son of Evangelical theologian/philosopher Francis Schaeffer, was on BookTV over the weekend, reading excerpts from and discussing his latest book on the real lives of military families. The book is called Voices From the Front. I did not see the entire broadcast but found some comments interesting. Schaeffer's son John joined the Marines prior to 9-11 and the result for Frank was a realization that many Americans want a strong defense in theory but are a bit squishy about the idea of their own children serving in the military. On BookTV, he noted that in earlier generations, the sons of politicians and pundits were much more likely to actually serve than in recent years, probably since Vietnam. This, he rightly finds hypocritical.

He did make a point of separating support for any particular war from the principle that defending freedom is a task all should share regardless of who is in office. He also noted, as have others that support for entering World War II was very weak prior to Pearl Harbor.

His comments are interesting and worth noting and the book, comprised of letter from actual personnel in the military serving in wartime is certainly the best way to form opinions about the military. Schaeffer believes much of America does truly respect the military, but those who don't simply don't know military people. And often it is the sons and daughters of poor families who do the dirty work.

This, together with a Military Times Poll is far better information than most media reporting or analysis. The poll shows, among other things, that most in the military are satisfied with their jobs, oppose a draft, approve of Bush's handling of the war, and expect the U.S. to be in Iraq for more than five years. This is not the picture one would get from most media outlets which tend to focus "human interest" stories on those who are negative toward the war.

The younger Schaeffer, once a fiery and sometimes belligerent evangelical on the front lines of protesting bias in the media and battling the culture of death, is now known for his equally biting rejection of evangelical excesses and sometimes controversial defense of Eastern Orthodoxy. As usual, watching his performance on BookTV, I found that his angry young man personna (he is now a grandfather) tended to blunt the force of otherwise good reasoning. And his sales pitch for his novels "Portofino", "Zermatt" and "Saving Grandma" betrayed an unfortunate bitterness toward all things Protestant. While good debate and discussion about different branches of Christianity is needed, it cannot help the cause of Christ for advocates of one branch to be openly spiteful of others.

Update: As I thought about Franky Schaeffer's challenge, I had to examine myself a bit. I had already decided I would support my sons if they chose a military career, but I had never considered if I would ever encourage them to volunteer. I guess I have not felt we have reached that stage where one must say "all hands on deck". And though I have never been in the military, I would still wish I could go instead of them.