<<My estemmed Canadina colleague fails to note that this taking of human lifei nwarfare has kept places like Canada an indepedent nation. When it is called for, thne the tkaing of human life is certainly necessary.>>
I have no problem with any of that. The military is a tool, and when used in the right hands it can accomplish great things. I think it's also important to note that when used in the wrong hands it can accomplish terrible things. I don't fault the tool if someone uses it to loosen my brakes and I crash the car, I blame the guy who used the tool. If the Army commits atrocities, I blame the perps, but more than them, I blame the commanders from the top down, for it was their responsibility to see that no atrocities occurred on their watch, whatever discipline or exhortations they had to use. The conduct of the troops reflects on the command structure.
None of the foregoing makes the military in any reasonable sense educational - - they are trained and paid to kill and in my view, however useful their killing skills may be at times, they do not belong on the campus of an institution whose purpose is to educate and hopefully to find ways of improving human life on earth in non-violent, creative and constructive ways. The army may be at times a necessity, but keeping in mind its ultimate function, it's an ugly necessity and more often than not these days, it's used more to enslave and oppress than it is to liberate. If Columbia wants to keep its campus used for purely educational purposes and/or culture, I'd say it has every right to keep ROTC off campus.
