Yes, Jessica Lynch took it like a man - or like a strong girl bred from good American stock. But she never wanted to be a soldier, only a kindergarten teacher. She saw the Army as a means to that end as well as a way out of her impoverished hometown.
While we might applaud her courage in leaving the familiarity of home for an unforeseeable future, we might not want to appropriate Lynch's resume as a recruiting vehicle. The military isn't and should never be construed as a ticket to college or just another career option.
As we have witnessed these past few weeks, it is a mean human machine designed primarily to take the lives of other human beings. If such is not one's taste or inclination - and I suspect they were never Jessica's - then a day job and night classes might be a better route.
Finally, on the matter of women's combat-worthiness, any visitor to the obstetrics ward knows that women are as tough as men. But an environment that puts women unwillingly at the disposal of men is never an argument for equality. It is quite vividly the opposite.
This is an interesting article about what people will try to make of Jessica Lynch's heroism, and what Kathleen Parker thinks we should really take away from her story.
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