Money has been said to rule the world. It has been the cause of war, the reason for divorce, and even the reason for corruption in the church. Time after time money has been utilized to sway people to do things that they otherwise would not have, and usually those things make us worse off.

Would you join the Army? No? What if they were willing to offer you $72,900 for college tuition, an enlistment bonus of $40,000, and/or up to $65,000 for student loan repayment? As a senior in high school I have become acutely aware of the Armed forces influence on students. I have had a number of friends who have either thought of or enlisted in the Army. For many, their reasons lay not in their deeply rooted patriotism, but in the fact that the Army offers thousands of dollars. Recently a new bill has been floating around in Congress; the GI bill. It is but another way in which the government has tried to “support” our troops by adding money to their already generous college financing, ensuring a full scholarship. Is this fair? Many have even complained that the promised money for college was not enough to cover their full tuition, basically leaving returning veterans with an empty promise. Money is the King and Queen of persuasion and despite the “choice” that is seemingly given to young men and women across the country to serve the USA I find it hard to believe that it’s out of the Army’s generosity that they hand over such large amounts of money. It’s a logrolling effect between the army and young people all across the U.S. They’ll give us the green, but only if we join their team.

Brochures, Websites, scholarship applications, posters, commercials; These are just a few of the many ways that the Army entices young people. Appealing to our interests and dreams they try to secure our spot in their program in exchange for our lives. A great example of the Army’s influence on people is seen in Michael Moore’s Documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 when two marines casually start up a conversation with two teenagers playing basketball:

MARINE #1: Gents, you know we’re looking at ya, right?

MARINE #2: You guys ever think about joining up?

PROSPECT: Thought about goin’ to college to play basketball or something like that.

MARINE #1: You gonna do it?

PROSPECT: I think, oh yeah, especially to play basketball.

MARINE #1: Good. You can play ball for the Marine Corps as well, travel around the world, gettin’ on Marine Corps basketball teams. David Robinson was in the military as well.

Like any organization that is in need of people, the Army recruits. The act of recruiting calls for persuasion and that is not the problem. The problem is who is being recruited and by what tactics. If an Army recruiter is recruiting an adult who is showing some sort of interests in the forces then that is okay but if the Army is recruiting unsuspecting high school students by guaranteeing that they could make their dreams come true then, yes, I believe that that is wrong.

Despite the Army’s deliberate green propaganda that has corrupted so many young people I wonder if the Army is fully to blame. America is the definition of a capitalist society. It is structured on having money, securing money, and getting money. No wonder kids are so susceptible to the Army’s financial ploys. The American society has created a people who kick, fight, and scratch to get the green. Standards are high and if we look at California or even our school, students are taking on more to achieve success: multiple A.P. classes, community service, sports, internships, night schools, and weekend classes. All of this is to secure a comfortable future that we’ve been convinced that we need. Has the need to go above and beyond forced students to idolize payroll and do whatever it takes to achieve comfort? Has our lust for money forced us into a place where we consider taking a chance on loosing our life for financial stability?