Midd-kids, you have it sooo good

Author: Bryan Goldberg '05

I am writing this opinion piece from Israel, where I have recently completed a two-week tour of the country as part of a semester off campus. During this time I have had the chance to talk with countless locals, including a dozen members of the Israeli Defense Forces. It is with this in mind that I write to express my distaste for the whiney Middlebury Campus rhetoric that has taken place recently.

For those unfamiliar with life in the Jewish state, let me summarize how Israelis our age spend their youth. After finishing high school, Israeli men and women enter the military. There are almost no exceptions. Large men and petite girls are both ushered into the armed forces, trained with M-16s and, depending upon their performances, shipped out to dangerous locations. Israelis spend several years serving their country and are not paid for it. After they are done, most spend a year working odd jobs to earn money to travel, since Israel is not a very wealthy country, and few of them have left their tiny homeland with great frequency. Thus, it is not until most Israelis are in their late-20s that they can finish a bachelor's degree and move on with their lives.

When comparing this lifestyle to my own easy-going Midd life, I came to realize how easy I have it. I went to college after high school - never considering a military stint - and partied for the most part. I am 21 now, have secured a lucrative job and will have my own apartment in San Francisco in a few months time. Let's face it - life is pretty good. America is pretty damn good.

Perhaps it is this type of problem-free lifestyle that has encouraged so many Midd-kids to lose sight of how good they have it, and to take arms against a sea of inconveniences. Proctor is closed two days a week, and people are starting petitions to prevent it? I am glad to see that the hippies who call Proctor home have mobilized themselves to combat truly meaningful causes. Having eaten 40 meals in Israel, I can say that every Midd Dining hall meal surpasses the junk they serve here, and I can only imagine how god awful Israeli military mess hall food might be in comparison. I also encourage all Midd seniors to think about their imminent graduation, and what sort of food they might be enjoying on that meager first-job salary - a year at Midd costs $68,000, how many grads will make half of that next year?

The other "big issue" on campus is the newly discovered reason to further hate the military. Is the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy a good one? As a conservative, I also question its merits. But would I completely renounce the military and its right to recruit here for that one reason? Absolutely not. Let's face it, there are many reasons that people might not like the military - the War in Iraq is a good one. But we cannot boycott our armed forces because we disagree with some of their policies. Here in Israel, a great many soldiers disagree with military policy. The continued occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is far more controversial than the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Many Israeli teenagers have died in Gaza, upholding an occupation that they themselves abhor. But that does not mean that they renounce their country, their army or the realities that necessitate their service.

Indeed, my time here in the Middle East has changed my perspective, but reading The Middlebury Campus from a hotel in Tel Aviv - where another suicide bomb ruined 50 lives - has made me realize just how obnoxious some so-called activists can be. In case the Proctor kids and the military-haters did not notice, the last month was one of the most historic in recent Middle East history. Where is the open discussion at Middlebury? Why is there a school-wide meeting regarding gays in the military at a time when world peace is struggling to take a huge step forward? It is simply ridiculous. There are a lot of people who need to wake up.