Submitted by Jordan C. S. Stern, Nov 7, 2006 14:36

John Kerry forgot himself for a moment, albeit a very unfortunate moment for Democrats everywhere. Despite his challenged career in the Navy, he's still a Yale alumnus who put on the green fatigues and went through the training to get him sent to Hell on Earth, where he did in fact find himself for a time. That must have been a difficult decision for a young man out of Yale with a world of opportunity. Some have said that Kerry pursued the military in order to kick start a political career. The jury's still out on that on that conclusion, and we may never know for certain. However, being in the military is never just a check in the box for a resume. It is a calling, though perhaps not for many during the Vietnam era, it certainly is today, especially for those with opportunities elsewhere. It makes sense that many students from elite schools do not serve in the military. It is not their calling. The demographics of elite schools have changed dramatically in recent decades. It is no longer the ol' boys' network (as much) as it once was. As I like to say (rhetorically speaking), "Being a dude, and doing dude things with other dudes," is not the elite school mentality to the extent that it once was nor is service to the country as universal as it once was. That being said, it stands to reason that elite school graduates do not jump at the opportunity to be in the military. This is not to say that graduates do not serve this country, because many do, just in other ways (i.e. teaching, fundraising, researching, actively participating in their communities, and on and on). Also, the list of Ivy League graduates serving in Iraq and on battlefields around the world is not as short as one might think. You accused elite schools as being "bastions of moral equivalence and Blame America Firsters." That may be so to some extent, but it is a terrible misnomer. Elite schools are bastions of ideas and free thought. Though the anti-war sentiment may be high, there is no lack of thought or insight into the causality or outcome of 'war and occupation' versus 'ceasefire and withdrawl'. Despite Kerry, these great minds attending America's elite schools have their hearts (though bleeding at times) in the right place. They, unlike our current enemy, are open to discourse, debate, and forum. Kerry's unfortunate comment is not at the heart of every liberal, and especially not every Democrat. Kerry forgot himself, and I hope that sooner rather than later he is reminded of his own decisions to wear green as a young man having graduated from one of America's top educational institutions.

Semper Fidelis,

Jordan C. S. Stern (1stLt U.S. Marine Corps, Princeton '04)

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