You really have no idea what you're talking about. I hate starting comments like that, because it makes people defensive, but alas I have other things I need to do today. If there were one thing I could change about America, it would be a mandatory service much like that employed in Switzerland.
Sure, you are a better programmer than soldier. So what? Half of the USAF does nothing but sit behind computer screens all day. Violence is the least of what we can do to serve our country and represent the nation's best interests.
The point that I'd like to make is really this: we are a divide states of America. We do not know how lucky and resourceful we really are. I've seen people who sell drugs on the streets because that's all they know. By and large, their negative attitude toward America and the opportunity available is shared by most citizens. We talk about "them" and "their" government holding "us" down in some way or another. The fallacy is that we
/are/ the government. We are the United States of America. When our politicians fail us, we are supposed to get pissed and stay pissed until we get what we want: their heads on a spike.
I invite you not to respond to this post with yet another post but instead, a trip to Zurich, Switzerland. Contact some of the folks on
http://www.couchsurfing.org/ so that you may be hosted by a proper Suisse, and learn. They are older and wiser as a culture with a penchant for excellence and perfection. They are the best program management/system integrators in our little planet. Truly, some of what makes them who they are is the mandatory service and the fact that every Suisse household has a standard issue military weapon and, at the end of every year, freshly shipped ammunition from the government for it. Interesting, indeed.
Cheers