Traditional buck passing
by digby
It’s good to know that some traditions survive no matter what:
In the wake of the Paris attacks, a majority of young Americans support sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS, according to a wide-ranging new poll from the Harvard Institute of Politics.
The institute has asked millennials about the idea of American boots on the ground at three different times this year, and the survey results have fluctuated somewhat, but there seems to be a “hardening of support.”
In this most recent survey, 60 percent of the 18- to 29-year-olds polled say they support committing U.S. combat troops to fight ISIS. But an almost equal number (62 percent) say they wouldn’t want to personally join the fight, even if the U.S. needed additional troops.
The disconnect in joining the fight comes down to how millennials feel about the government writ large, according to Harvard IOP Polling Director John Della Volpe.
“I’m reminded of the significant degree of distrust that this generation has about all things related to government,” said Della Volpe. “And I believe if young people had a better relationship with government … they’d be more open to serving.”
I don’t know about that last bit. It sounds like a very convenient rationalization by the person who did the study.
It’s always a very few who want to go to war unless there is an existential threat. Millennials are smart enough to know that ISIS is not an existential threat. So, they figure it’s fine to send the people who want to join up and like fighting wars over to do their jobs. That’s how we do it these days. I’d imagine if there were a draft the support for troops on the ground would be substantially reduced among this cohort.
Millennials are no different than the rest of the country on this. Surprise. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
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