The (hot) prince at war: Where’s Jenna?
Yeah, the hype over Prince Harry getting assigned to combat duty in Afghanistan is way over the top. (As the U.K. Independent noted, even gaysocialites.com, not known for its war reporting, jumped in, calling Harry “like the hottest thing ever.”)
But the whole thing reminded me that the British have a different standard when it comes to the children of the powerful serving in times of war. The sons of British royalty have always gone to war; it’s almost expected. If the country’s fighting, the royals don’t sit it out.
The children of American leaders are doing just that, of course. You don’t hear anything about the Bush twins signing up to fight their father’s war. (Of course, Bush didn’t fight in Vietnam, either, nor did Dick Cheney.)
Ralph Nader, who shouldn’t be running for president, has a great line on this. He suggests that Congress ought to enact a law that
Whenever Congress and the White House take our country to war, all able-bodied military-age children of every member of Congress, the President and the Vice-President will be conscripted automatically into the armed forces.
.
Makes a lot of sense.