TakeYouToTasker Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) the military analogy is evidence of the likelihood. there are cvlearly many poor people that are wiling to risk their lives for an opportunity at upward mobility. i think it's fair to say that many more would jump at this opportunity if risking ones life wasn't a prerequisite. Asch alluded to the fact that “the military tries to attract high school graduates who are looking for job training, good benefits and help with college tuition — and that a high percentage of black women fit that bill, as a possible explanation of the discovery You'll note a few things: 1. The military is unlike other professions. It takes people from any walk of life, and immediately confers on them the dignity and respect earned by volunteering to serve and defend the country and it's many citizens. It also incurs a unique contractual obligation which can carry criminal penalties for abrogation of duties. As such, the military teaches both respect and work ethic in ways that vocational schools cannot; also noting that the military is the very best vocational school in the entire country. 2. The military does not exist for the purpose of bettering those who enlist. The military exists as a vital necessity to defend the country, and as such, full funding of a program designed for the aggressive recruitment of those individuals who are inclined to seek out "job training, good benefits, and help with college tutition" is actuarially justified; where as an expensive social program that serves no other purpose than to train people, and lacks the ability to instil work ethic and respect as the military can, is not. 3. The military already exists as a clear path to individuals from any "class", save criminals, to elevate themselves, gain vocational training, earn the near universal respect and gratitude of their fellow citizens, earn a wage and have housing provided to their families, receive health benefits, and have a work ethic and a justified sense of pride instilled. The fact that individuals choose not to enlist is their own decision. They already have this path provided. Edited April 22, 2015 by TakeYouToTasker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 That's some pie in the sky optimism there. Most people, across all walks of life, share an ugly trait: they seek the easiest path which offers the least resistance. It's the reason Frost's The Road Less Traveled is so impactful: it's the rare individual who will do the extra work to get ahead when comforts can be found without. This is well put. Conveys a shite load with not to many words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 i did address it. you give people hope and a light at the end of the tunnel and their motivation and work ethic are very likely to change You give people hope and a light at the end of the tunnel, and most people will squander it. Change comes from within. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 That's some pie in the sky optimism there. Most people, across all walks of life, share an ugly trait: they seek the easiest path which offers the least resistance. It's the reason Frost's The Road Less Traveled is so impactful: it's the rare individual who will do the extra work to get ahead when comforts can be found without. firstly, frost's poem is "the road not taken". secondly, while we all interpret things (especially poems) differently, i think it's primarily about regret, not laziness. here's another art form that i feel captures the essence of that poem: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+darrell+scott+sha+na+na&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=1258F542BA27CCB84EA41258F542BA27CCB84EA4 more to the point, i've given evidence of desire and willingness to sacrifice for personal betterment (ie military, student loans from predatory "school"s) and you all have countered with an example of a welfare queen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) firstly, frost's poem is "the road not taken". secondly, while we all interpret things (especially poems) differently, i think it's primarily about regret, not laziness. here's another art form that i feel captures the essence of that poem: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+darrell+scott+sha+na+na&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=1258F542BA27CCB84EA41258F542BA27CCB84EA4 more to the point, i've given evidence of desire and willingness to sacrifice for personal betterment (ie military, student loans from predatory "school"s) and you all have countered with an example of a welfare queen. You are correct. It is The Road Not Taken. I erroniously conflated the title with text of the final stanza in my head. Thank you for pointing that out. I'll grant that we (the larger we) all do interpret poetry differently, though I wouldn't characterize it as being about laziness either, but rather the courage to do the more difficult thing which others will not; and in later reflection, doing that difficult thing, rather than the easy, having made all the difference in the outcomes of life. Edited April 22, 2015 by TakeYouToTasker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChan Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 firstly, frost's poem is "the road not taken". secondly, while we all interpret things (especially poems) differently, i think it's primarily about regret, not laziness. here's another art form that i feel captures the essence of that poem: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+darrell+scott+sha+na+na&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=1258F542BA27CCB84EA41258F542BA27CCB84EA4 more to the point, i've given evidence of desire and willingness to sacrifice for personal betterment (ie military, student loans from predatory "school"s) and you all have countered with an example of a welfare queen. Not to get all English teacher on you, but I am surprised that you view a poem containing the lines, "I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference," as regret. Sounds more like pride to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) Not to get all English teacher on you, but I am surprised that you view a poem containing the lines, "I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference," as regret. Sounds more like pride to me. never got past intro poetry but i remebered this interpretation and frost himself backs it up: Yet Frost had written Untermeyer two years previously that "I'll bet not half a dozen people can tell you who was hit and where he was hit in my Road Not Taken," and he characterized himself in that poem particularly as "fooling my way along." He also said that it was really about his friend Edward Thomas, who when they walked together always castigated himself for not having taken another path than the one they took http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/road.htm Edited April 22, 2015 by birdog1960 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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