The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)

The Following article IS A LESSON in representative clarity of US America as an unrepentant empire, with all the resulting nationalism and militarism that extends down from that and with those manifestations embraced. Invisible to most, an unobstructed view of the language of that nationalism and, by the nature of this beast, the foundation of all permanent war.

And the remorse of a vision unfulfilled!
- NNOMY


10/19/2021 /  Wes O'Donnell / Managing Editor, Edge. Veteran, U.S. Army & U.S. Air Force - If we don’t figure out why soon, it will become a national security crisis.

Movies have always had an unhealthy influence on me. I came of age in Ronald Reagan’s neon-tinted 1980s, complete with big hair and big action heroes. My role models were people like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando, Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, and Carl Weathers in Predator.

Even James Cameron’s Colonial Marines from 1986’s Aliens made militarism cool well before the word “tacticool” (a portmanteau of tactical and cool) was invented in 2004.

These over-the-top action heroes glorified the unstoppable might of the American military; no doubt an effort to save face after the Vietnam War. Even Oliver Stone’s Platoon, arguably an anti-war movie, taught me about self-sacrifice.

For me, joining the military was a grand adventure – A hero’s journey

Joining the Army seemed like an adventure; I thought “I’ll live my action movie fantasy and get college money while I’m at it.” At that age, I didn’t give a millisecond of thought to my own mortality. After all, as 80’s action movies illustrated, bad guys have horrible aim.

When my Army recruiter in Texas used to talk about his job in artillery, his eyes sparkled. It was clear that he loved his job (or at least loved blowing things up). But my mind was firmly set on the infantry, due in part to some weird fascination with hyper-masculine men saying catchphrases and shooting bad guys from the hip.

Kids from my generation rushed into military service. Morale was high. By the mid-90s the Soviet Union had collapsed, and our military had just defeated the fifth-largest army in the world in Desert Storm. Twenty years after the end of Vietnam, America was back in the winner’s circle.

But only a shockingly small percentage of today’s young people are considering joining the military. To be clear, my generation, GEN X, was born between 1964-1981, Millennials 1981-1997, and Gen Z 1997 to present.

So, as a member of Generation X, how does my decision to join the Army, (and later the Air Force), differ from today’s youth? And what’s stopping them from considering the military as a viable career option, or at least considering the military as a transition between high school and college?

The Mothers Against War Fund raises more than two decades by addressing the effects of war conflicts.

February 19 2024 / Sandra Torres Guzmán / Primera Hora / Translated into English - Educating for peace was converted into a life mission by psychologist Sonia Margarita Santiago Hernández, who dedicated her time and effort to educating the people about the effects of war conflicts through the Madres anti-war organization.

It is the lesson she got from her parents who, from a young age, instilled in her a charitable feeling for the common causes that affect the well-being of the communities, a path that continued when she entered the university and then into her adulthood.

Born in Naranjito and resident in Dorado for more than three decades, Sonia Margarita recalls her humble origin when “my parents strengthened me within the Catholic Church with a profound feeling of Christian charity in praxis, meaning that it was not a question of going every Sunday to mass but what we did”.

“It was the experience of life, what it is to be Christian. For example, in activities to support people without a home or people who need our support in any way”, related the daughter of Ángel Santiago Aponte and Aurora Hernández Ortega.

Her entry into the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras in 1966 coincided with the Vietnam conflict (1955-1975), a cause that motivated her to join a committee "to resist mandatory military service."