A hidden danger threatens the long-term viability of our military.  The threat arises from a deep-seated elitism that isolates and denigrates the military and what it represents.  I know that the popular view is that American support hasn't been as high since World War.

The World War generation is fading fast. Ascending to power is the Vietnam Generation.  The vast majority of those men and women dislike the military and what it stands for.  This is manifested in a cultural elitism lurks below the surface that threatens the stability of our armed services.  Much of this Jane Fonda Generation opposed the war and believed that Americans who fought were criminals.  While some have grown out of this idiocy; many have not.

Today, only one in 400 people in this country are active duty military.  Chances are that most people don't really know a Soldier, Marine, Sailor or Airman.  That is true even where I live, which is just whistling distance from Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne and Special Operation commands.

The problem is more that just numbers and ratios.  The problem is also attitude.  Last year, I received a call from the Dean of Students office where my son attends college. I worried that he had done something terrible at this prestigious institution.  My worry evolved into curiosity when the official told me that she was concerned about what my son had written on his "vocational interest" survey.

When I heard what he had done I sat in amazement and wondered how such a decision could possibly disturb an official of a very influential college.  My son's sin, I was told, was that he wanted to be an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.   I asked the caller if she had heard of Osama bin Laden.  She sounded startled by my response.  I told her that as long as bin Laden and his ilk roam the earth that I would be in favor of just about anybody joining the Marines.

What this administrator was telling me was that joining the armed forces, particularly the point-and-shoot Marines, was a poor career choice.  Obviously, in the mind of this administrator, there are better things to do than to serve the country

A certain deep-seated animus to the idea of the military grows more than skin-deep in our culture.  I remember once, not too long ago, getting a phone call from a teacher who said that my jingoistic tendencies were best kept private and that I shouldn't, as she said, "poison young minds." She had no idea that she was pouring shame into my Marine Corps blood, an act I was not about to tolerate.

The dislike comes from a deep-seated idealism.  People have this blind faith in the "goodness" of man and that we are always better off in offering a carrot rather than a stick.  Those who have this belief probably are not going to change.  They will always believe that we are most threatened when we raise our sword.

While I see no easy way to meaningful address this bias I am sure we are missing our opportunity in our failure to more closely connect with the military during this time of war.  I think that the Bush Administration has failed by not doing more to honor our brave warriors.  The idea that you have to die to win the Medal of Honor is unfortunate.  There have been only five MOHs awarded, all to decedents for the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan compared with 247 in Vietnam.  I have been advised that the President is about to bestow the MOH on a living person, a Marine.  That's about six years and a dozen MOHs too late in my view. 

I would also suggest a "Veteran's Mentoring" program where vets would mentor a boy or girl about the military and the possibilities service presents.  Such a program would have the positive effect of engaging those who have served with a new challenge of sharing their experience with the young.  This effort would only work if those mentored had access to the active duty military where they could see our finest in action.  This would introduce kids to new possibilities, including the chance for national service.  I submit that we would be a stronger country through such an effort.  Lets not allow this chance to pass us by.