Matt Damon for president!

As I may have mentioned before, I have a bit of a hero worship thing going on with Matt Damon. He talks loads of sense, he can sure act, is very bright and has a good sense of humour. He’s the person in the world who I’d most like to have a beer with. Actually, I’d like to share considerably more than a beer with Mr Damon, but even one’s dreams should have some grounding in real hope! Mr Damon is married (to a former barmaid he met whist filming a few years ago).

Anyway, I just happened upon the story that MD did an interview recently where he said that he believed that there should be conscription to get troops for Iraq. I was perplexed; this didn’t sound like the views of a Harvard liberal one bit. On closer inspection and watching a video clip (see it here on youtube) I got the argument. The USA has a military force almost totally drawn from a poor underclass. They serve becuase of economic need, not because of patriotism. It’s disproportionately black. At some sick level, the civilian leadership of the US military sees the value of US servicemen’s lives as worth less than their own. I understand Matt’s argument and have to say it has some merit. If a society believes that going to war is necessary, it should be willing to share the dangers randomly and fairly. Would Bush really have invaded Iraq if there had been a chance that his twin daughters might be randomly selected to go into danger? I doubt it. If you’re a political leader who’s not willing to take chances with the safety of people you love, you shouldn’t be willing to take chances with the lives of people others love.

Matt Damon for president of the United States! God knows, he’d do a better job than the current idiot.