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Matt Damon thinks the Bush twins can serve too
By Stone Martindale Dec 17, 2006, 0:06 GMT
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Older Talkback
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Before you ask others to serve, how about stepping up to the plate yourself? I suppose that is for others, correct Mr. Damon?
The fact is, wealthy recuits number proportionally to less wealthy recuits when looking at their home zip codes. The myth that only the poor serve is just that: A myth.
Why would Matt Damon have to serve when he's not pro-Iraq war? Bush and his groupies are for the war in Iraq...but maybe if their own kids were going to war, they'd think a little bit more before blindly waging war for what turned out to be flimsy evidence.
I have to agree with the first post...I don't see Damon volunteering. And who is to say the daughters support their father's decision anyway. Sure, they show up for public things, he's their father for god's sake, but maybe they're embarrassed (never could spell that right) by their father sometimes.
Getting a little off tangent, just getting a little tired of celebs posturing, I guess. And I could care less if the girls party. They are young, attractive and don't hurt people so lay off. I don't hear of them whoring around, spewing their ideas left and right, breaking up marriages, etc. like half of Hollywood so Matt can just get off his high horse and go back to his 90210 address and shut his trap.
If the President had the power to send anybody who was not a volunteer (the military is an all-volunteer force, after all), then Damoon would himself be eligible to be sent. For all anyone knows the Bush twins are as against the war as Damoon is, so why should they be singled out for compulsory service?
I guess that a couple of you are missing the point of Damon's remark. If you run a war machine, why not declare war when you have nothing personal to lose, and all your friends have huge portfolios to enrich. Wake up jerks. Your kids are dying for no reason other than to line the ilk of Halliburton's pockets...or is it somebody else's kids that are dying...and it's okay with you for some macho reason. There never were any WMD's!!! And, for the President to allow his kids to publicly party in Argentina or anywhere else while other American kids are sacrificing all they have...3000 dead and 20,000 wounded...just continues to show Bush's inadequacy as a leader and a commander-in-chief.
If Bush were truly a re-born Christian as he claims, he would greatly fear his judgment day with the almighty. Amen.
I agree with the last comment made. I would also like to point out that if his daughters opposed his beliefs, they would not stand next to him in any political functions. If George Bush seriously believes in sending our kids to be killed, then why can't he send his own daugters into the dangerous areas of Iraq without bodyguards. Come On George set an example. While we're at it, why doesn't George himself set an example and lead the fight in Iraq. There are also many people who have been called back, even though they had done their time. A couple of my friends had to go back to fight in Iraq even though they served their time. One was in his late 40's. So George Bush, if you are so adament about this war, then lead by example or get our kids out of Iraq! We won't miss you!
Do you know when George Bush lies?
His lips are moving!
As an active duty Marine, I am offended by Damon's remarks about the 'fighting class who have to fight this nation's wars for financial reasons or ... whatever.' This statement has no basis in fact and is utterly ... stupid. I hope that the average civilian does not believe that Damon speaks with an ounce of credibility. Hearing his comments, I'm shocked that he actually spent some time at Harvard -- obviously, not enough time. I guess he presumes that America will believe him because of his Hollywood cred -- NEWSFLASH -- this buffoon has no idea what he's talking about. The fact is that Americans join the military because they appreciate what it means to be an American and they think that the life we enjoy is worth defending. They don't join because they are Bush supporters or warmongers, and they certainly don't join because they have no other options. Most of my fellow Marines have serious reservations about the decisionmaking in Iraq, but that doesn't change our dedication to serve -- we serve our civilian leaders and we swear an oath to obey their orders, as long as they are lawful. That is what makes America great, and Matt Damon can count on all of us defending his right to live the luxurious existence that he enjoys. As for the 'join for financial reasons or whatever' comment, Damon is just plain wrong. A few facts to consider: the median household income for recruits has been increasing - from $41,141 in 1999 to $43,238 in 2005 (adjusted for inflation); numbers of enlistees from the poorest 20 percent of American neighborhoods have been falling since 2003 and enlistees from the wealthiest 20 percent have been increasing; and the percentage of high school graduates in the military remains over 96 percent, while nationally only about 80 percent of U.S. students graduate from high school. I could go on. Bottom line -- I don't want Bush's daughters OR Matt Damon serving next to me unless they WANT to be there. On second thought, Damon should just stick with his day job and leave the political commentary to folks who have done their homework.
I think Matt makes a good point.Why shouldn't they serve their country like everyone else.I think if it would happen Bush would likely think twice about pulling the troops out of their.It's fine to send in other people's kids to do the job,but I'm betting it wouldn't be quite as good if it were his own kids.Great point Matt.Maybe now Bush will reconsider his decisions.
Ohhh, I have so much to say. First, huah to the Marine- I agree with all. Second, does anyone seriously think that Bush is just lightly 'sending our kids to be killed'? I'm sure it was the hardest decision of his life- he knew the consequences, and that it would be difficult and unpopular. Of course, I was taught that that was the definition of integrity, but I won't go into that.
I thought Damon was more intelligent than he revealed himself to be last night, and I am surprised that he would speak in such an unintelligent and uninformed way. Further, again, please remember that this is a VOLUNTEER military, and by this point, anyone now still in the military WANTS to be there. Oh, and these are not KIDS- they are grown men AND women (that means the Bush twins are eligible- it's up to them, not their parents). Finally, please remember that soldiers volunteer to protect all Americans, to keep us safe on our own soil, to protect your right to type scathing criticisms of our President without a threat of recourse, to allow your kids to play safely and attend free schools- well, the list goes on. I will end with a quote- you'll recognize it by the end:
Gentlemen may cry peace, peace- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! …Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
Yes, Patrick Henry- still applicable today.
I simply love that the most involved, coherent responses to this story come from a Marine (yes, an Army brat is actually capitalizing 'Marine') and a military spouse. If you really want to learn about how the American military produces many of the best and brightest in our society, you need only read the above comments. A member of the Marine Corps set aside his or her anger and disgust in order to provide the cold, hard facts, and he or she did so with a grace that is seldom seen in contemporary political discourse. I might say that it is ironic that the one respondent here who was labeled by Mr. Damon as uneducated was the one who provided the most informative comment, but irony runs contrary to expectations. I have learned to expect such intelligence and decorum from the American military; indeed, it is what makes them the best fighting force in the world. I hope that any members of the military who see this web site know that most Americans do not hold the same views as some Hollywood actors. We thank you for what you do, and we pray that when your job is done, you will make it home to your families safely.
Funny, I don't recall Chelsea serving in Bosnia.
I just tossed my 'Saving Private Ryan' DVD out into the December rain. When I looked to my left and right thirty years ago, there were no professional actors or entertainers serving at my elbow. You're out-of-bounds, Matt--a bona fide coward: How dare you call on the Bush girls to serve in YOUR place? I loathe Hollywood with an anger so deep it's homicidal. McCarthy was right.
The statement that portrays the Bush twins as merely spoiled, party girls is wrong. Sure, there was the highly publicized fake I.D. incident a few years, but come on, they were in college! That just makes them typical immature young adults. People need to cut them a little slack. And according to wikipedia, Jenna is now working for UNICEF in Panama and Barbara is working for with AIDS patients in Africa through Baylor's College of Medicine's International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative. I consider that pretty noble work.
You hear people like Matt Damon speaking to the press/talk-shows just before they are releasing their movies because these kinds of actors disappear into their personal life as soon as their movie is done and released to the theatres. You don't see them partying every night, creating scenes in bars, dropping their pants in public, making and selling sex videos, verbally abusing photographers/reporters or getting into any kind of scandals. They don’t give you any reason to see or hear about them other than their work.
Matt had no intention to make the Hardball interview political. Instead the interviewer deliberately asked political questions to him. When you’re asking political question to a world famous celebrity on TV then you should give him enough time to elaborate his view, otherwise, the holes left in his quotes will be intentionally and wrongly filled by those who don’t support his views to give it a shape/meaning that he can’t even imagine of saying. A man cannot illustrate his political views in just a few sentences. Matt wasn’t given enough time.
You just heard him putting stress on the fact that people still join the army for money (which is indeed a fact, even though their number may be considerably small as shown in the survey). People join armies for various reasons. If you come from poor areas in Boston where drugs are sold in every corner of the street then you’re very likely to join the army for money and a better life.
Matt said if his country ever decides to go to war then the burden should be equally shared (Just look around and you’ll find many many families, mostly the wealthy ones that are still emotionally unaffected by the war). His comment on the Bush twins who may join the war too is based on the fact that the over-privileged-higher section of the society who are little or unaffected by the war should be more concerned. When you’re taking the advantage of fighting a war with a volunteer army then you should give enough good and honest reasons to them and their families to send their children to war. I have read his quotes over and over but I haven’t found anything about disrespecting those volunteered men and women who are fighting to find the WMDs (which never existed) and catch/kill/arrest the terrorists in Iraq (I still don’t understand why America chose Iraq and not Afghanistan or Pakistan, which host headquarters of Laden and his associates).
This is what Matt was asked -----------
QUESTION FROM STUDENT: I was just wondering, would either of you go to war right now? Not right now, I guess, but would you go to war if you were us?
DE NIRO: Well that’s such a complex question.
(LAUGHTER)
DE NIRO: Well, I don’t know, that’s another thing about the draft and so on, if it ever would come up again. I mean, I was for going to Iraq originally and then I saw, I realized that when we went in we didn’t know how to deal with it once we were there. We just thought they’d all cheer us and we’d be out and then they’d want Democracy. We’re dealing with—we were just talking about before—the thousands of years old cultures that have all their in-fighting, whatever. I mean, we can’t come in unless we have a real plan or strategy and I never thought that.
MATTHEWS: If you were drafted?
DAMON: There is this great book that just came out about that called “Imperial Life in the Emerald City.” That’s definitely a book worth reading, just about that. We kind of blundered in there with the best intentions, but nevertheless without a plan. So, but in terms of your question, I agree with Bob that it’s a complex question. It would depend on certain situations. I don’t think that it’s fair, as I said before that it seems that we have a fighting class in our country that’s comprised of people who have to go for either financial reasons or you know, I don’t think that that is fair. And if you’re going to send people to war, if we all get together and decide we need to go to war, then that needs to be shared by everybody, you know. And if the president has daughters who are of age, then maybe they should go to.
(APPLAUSE)
Where exactly did Matt disrespect the army? He is referring to the fact that the country is divided into two opinion classes --- For war and Against war. Those who are supporting and willing to go to war have taken the status of the fighting class. A war is not fought by a certain section of the society. It enters war as a country. So its important to know and hear what others might be thinking about going to war. America is lucky to be fighting against Iraq with the consent of a portion of the population. Suppose it has been any powerful country in the world other than Iraq. Do you think that Bush administration had declared war against say England or Germany or China or Japan that easily without the consent of the majority of the population. America chose a wayyyy weaker country in the name of fighting against terrorists and took full advantage of its volunteer army to destroy it. There is nothing to be proud of it. If someone says that he isn’t then don’t call him names. Now that the entire world is against America, the American government is all up to rebuild Iraq. Are they kidding? Do you know how many years it takes to rebuild a war torn country? Will those American men and women still in Iraq are coming back any sooner?
There are a good percentage of people (poor, middle, rich) who never supported the war from day one. They are not cowards or lesser patriots than those who supported the war. It was their right to choose. Matt however is one of them. In the interview he has said it a couple of times that the reasons to send the army to Iraq was never clear. He is a rich man but to accuse him to care more for his money than his country is not acceptable at all. Have you seen the article where he says that he has recently lost everything he owned in his apartment due to sprinkler malfunction and yet he wasn’t worried because his family was safe and happy. How many celebrities do you know who love their family more than their millions? To call someone ignorant/stupid/coward without fully knowing him or his views and intentions on a particular subject is not right IMHO. A man can show his chivalry in different situations in his life. One needs to see and appreciate that. He could’ve humiliated Minnie Driver publicly when she falsely accused him of dumping her in a famous talk-show. But never uttered a bad word against her even though he was smoked alive in public. He could’ve made an issue out of it when Minnie and her sister confessed that she lied. A man who doesn’t disrespect his bitchy ex will disrespect the army? WOW. He married a bartender who has an 8-year-old daughter, bought a home in Miami so that the child can stay close to her father will go to a show to promote his disrespect to his country’s army? Excellent. Since he has never involved the media to the charities he does doesn’t mean that he doesn’t do any charity. He is one of those actors who said that they are willing to pay more tax because they earn much more, so that the common people wont have to pay huge taxes. Such a man is disrespectful to those who are guarding his country? -------- awesome.
For those who still love Damon, here is a part of the same interview where he praises President Bush. I’ve known very few men other than my father who despite having serious deviation in opinions with someone will still go on to praise his good work. Such unbiased men are very honorable. Here ---------
DAMON: But, I would also say that I do some work with a group here in D.C. called Data. They’re part of the parent organization of the One campaign who prioritize Africa and issues of extreme poverty.
And whoever’s in there, Republican or Democrat, I hope they take up that issue. And I will say that I disagree with George Bush about a lot of things, but so far, his emergency plan for AIDS relief, is an outstanding...
MATTHEWS: In Africa.
DAMON: In Africa.
MATTHEWS: Is the money getting through?
DAMON: The money—not only is the money getting through, but I’ve been there and I’ve seen—I have met people who are alive because of that money. It is the only place you can actually look at our tax dollars and equate it with lives saved. It’s a fantastic program, along with the global fund, and the president should be applauded for it.
(APPLAUSE)
Wish you all a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. Hope those brave men and women still stuck in Iraq comeback to their families safe and soon.
I for one still love Damon and will watch his every film to support his right of free speech however controversial they may seem to those who has equal right to disagree with him.
CC, I'm sure that Matt Damon tries to be a good person, and I'm sure that he absolutely never supported the war in Iraq. The problem is that his comments reflect a complete lack of understanding of the military and its makeup. First and foremost, the United States military is a volunteer force. It is made up entirely of people who want to be in the military, and it has made them a far more effective fighting force. Next, go back to the comment made by one of our Marines, and actually read it. The median household income for recruits is and has been over $40,000. Recruitment from the poorest neighborhoods in America is actually down.
I'm really not sure that Minnie Driver has anything to do with this, CC, and most of us could really care less about Mr. Damon's relationships. My suggestion for Mr. Damon is that he should find out why American troops find his comments offensive, assuming he cares about their opinions.
Mr. Damon...please don't discount our military saying they do it for the money. I suppose you chose acting purely for the love of the art...that money had nothing to do with your choice.
Why not applaude those in the military...whatever their reason for entering. Is intent more important than action? If so who is perfect enough to judge anothers intent.
I'm not sure what you meant by your comment...but I came away thinking that because you chose not to enter the military then anyone who did choose to join must have been forced into it.
I think that if you don't want to go into the war, then you don't have to, which is how it is today. But I bet that if there was a draft, the Bush twins wouldn't be on the list to go over and serve the nation. We won't really know unless a draft actually happens, andI pray to God it doesn't. I have respect for those in the military, but I don't have any for the man who put them there. Thank God he's gone next year! And I hope everyone comes back from the war in good condition and alive... it's a shame that many more people are going to be killed because of Bush.
So, what is Matt Damon saying ? Is he saying that anybody and everybody who supports a given military action, should be willing to fight on the front lines - or else their support has no credibility ? Is he saying that no civilian can support military action unless they are willing to enlist ? Eeeh - let me tell you something Professor Damon - had I been alive during WWII, you bet I would have supported our involvement. You can also bet that I wouldnt even consider enlisting myself, or having any of my civilian family members enlist either. Since when has the determination for the just-ness of a war, been whether or not the president wants to send his civilian family members to the front lines ? I guess since Roosevelt's daughter didnt enlist to fight in WWII, our involvement was not 'just' ? You didnt see people yelling 'Draft Anna !' during WWII, did you ? No, because Anna Roosevelt was a civilian. Mr. Damon, is it possible that you can support a military action, yet wouldnt want to fight on the front lines yourself - simply because you arent a soldier ? Or must one be willing to fight on the front lines, in order to support military action ? If not, then shut your stupid mouth about the Bush Twins - they arent soldiers, they are civilians you moron.
To all comments I have read. In defense of Matt Damon, he is quite educated, let's give him some credit and think about his argument. First off, this idea is not his own isolated theory, it is an idea with some history and it is held by many others. Damon's comment must be evaluated in the abstract. These allegations espousing our military as all VOLUNTEER have no bearing at all. In a way he is arguing for mandatory conscription for war fighting, which is currently present in many countries. In short, the notion he is describing is that if the burden for war was shared by everyone, then decisions would be more thoughtful and ethical through the placement of incentives. A food for thought question: would President Bush have made the same decision to invade Iraq if he new for a fact his daughters would be called upon to serve in the military with a looming possibility of death. This decision was made by President FDR (as well as many others), as he had sons who fought in WWII. Something else to point out, being an active duty Marine or Soldier does not give one greater access to military recruiting statistics so some of the veterans who posted are using their title to attack an argument they hardly understand. If you look at the numbers at universities, most of the graduates in the early 20th century served in the military, now the percentage is usually less than 5 percent, and at Ivy Leagues usually less than a percent serve. It is also a well known fact that most enlisted recruits come from poorer and less educated segements of our society, no one can argue this. And those of you defending the President blindly is more of hero worship than patriotism. A good patriot dessents when he smells a something foul in the decisions of his masters. Every once in a while when you tire of buring your head in the sand look up and take a look around. Don't though, wars to protect trade and resources have been going on for most of human post-manufacting history.
40,000 is 'household' meaning that it includes the marriage partner's income. Enlisted military make jack shit, ~ 29,000 with housing allowance. You can't wan't a war to be fought but not want to fight in it. This is the manifestation of social exploitation. I need to protect trade and access to resources, there is no referendum of public opinion, let's send in the troops. Troops who usually join on the winds of a talented PR campaign exploiting a young man's desire for honor and a challenge. Why do you think the Soviet's RED army outlawed rank. Because their sick of the false belief's surround social difference and all basis for authority. Wake up peter pan's, life has not always been structured the way it is in contemporary America.
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