Should Women Be Allowed in Infantry Units?

This topic has been a conversation in military circles for decades, can women make it in an infantry unit?  No doubt that women in our military are an assets and essential to what they do.  Our women in uniform are noble Americans that volunteer to serve our country and sacrifice in my opinion just as much if not more than their male counterparts do.  A very small percentage of the United States citizens are in the Armed Forces and even a smaller percentage are women.  Our military is a huge wheel of moving parts with numerous responsibilities and occupations to keep the wheel turning.  Each one plays a vital role in what our military does on daily basis to perform their duty and serve their nation.  One of the things that make service members outstanding in some areas and below average in some areas is our physical ability.  We can not deny the fact that we are all different.  For example, some members can withstand more tropical humid temperature than others,  some have a photographic memories and can recall data and regulation very easily.  Some are gifted with mechanical skills and other are blessed with unique abilities to problem solve on the fly.  All of these are physical attribute that give one the edge over the other.

The United States Marines Corps is one of the most demanding military organization in the world.  Their basic training is 13 weeks long (longest of all services) and their physical fitness requirements are the most physically driven of the all the services.  The Marines are an expeditionary force meaning they can basically be anywhere in the world in very little time.  The infantry units are the Marine Corps great strength and the training to be that is very extensive to ensure success in combat.  But the question is can females make it through the training?  The research has shown that generally speaking men have some physical advantages in strength and size.  Marine Officer infantry training is 86 days of harsh training that is extremely difficult for any gender.  The Secretary of Defense ordered the military leaders to start incorporating trials for women into the officer infantry training.  The trial for women in the infantry unit commenced with only 3 women in the group of males going through strenuous training.   60 Minutes ran an article discussing these women and what they has to endure.

Gender equality in a nutshell means that males and females should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against because of their gender.  Today's culture sees "equal treatment" in a way that it was not meant to be my opinion.  You are likely to hear comments for both males and females, "If she hits you like a man, she should be expected to be hit like a man, using equal treatment as a justification.  Personally,  I am what is called old fashioned and I was raised to treat woman with respect and never put your hands on them for any reason.  Most males are taught this at a young age because we are physically stronger generally speaking.  I do believe that parents should tell their daughters to treat males with respect as well and never put your hands on them.  However, it is less than likely that young girls are taught to treat males with respect as males are taught.  I strongly agree that both men and women should be treated equally, the same pay for doing the same work,  have the same opportunities but the fact of the matter is that males and females are different.  They are physically different and that gives either gender advantages and disadvantages in certain area to successful.  The physical requirements for Marine Officer infantry more conducive for most males to complete the course however it not to say that females can't complete the course.

As I mentioned before, I am old fashioned.  I know that women can open doors by themselves, they do it when I am not around, but I still do it out of courtesy and to be polite.  I was taught by my mother that women were important and precious, as male my role is to protect and honor her.  My culture groomed young men to be potentially good husbands to our wives.  There are gender roles,  some see them as sexist others think it is cultural.  The culture is changing and some women want to break away from the old fashion way others look for it in a partner.  So the question remains,  can women make it in an infantry unit?  I think so however it will not be easy and it will require a female from upper percentage of the gender.  It would be difficult for the average male to make it, I think the same for a woman.

Martin, D. (2015, March 15). A Few Good Women. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/female-marines-women-in-combat-60-minutes/

Cultural Barriers Can They Be Broken.

Cultural Barriers Can They Be Broken?

India's culture of categorizing their citizens called a caste system has been going on now for about 15 centuries.  Legend has it that the Hindus ranking system "emerged for a primordial being (O'Neill, n.d.)." The mouth of the being spewed out the priesthood and the tutors, the arms expelled the soldiers and rulers, the thighs produced traders and businessmen and from the feet came the laborers. Yet a lower class exist among them, labeled as the "Untouchables"or Dalit.  They have no place in the primordial being division of the people and they are considered unclean and unworthy and treated that way.

"Wrestling is popular throughout India, but the state of Maharashtra has a particular obsession with the sport, in particular maati kushti, or mud-wrestling. Many poor farming families train at least one son as a wrestler, and for a lucky few it provides an escape route from a life of poverty and caste discrimination (Jha, 2015)." This was the case for one man named Amol Sathe of a small village called Masoli who became famous for his mud wrestling skills.  It was not an easy road for this man to get where he is today. Wrestling was his way out that class of poverty but as an outcast no one wanted to touch him which was going to happen in the sport of wrestling.  His skill level and success began to make compulsive for other to have contact with him as he climbed in popularity.  Cultural Relativism says that we should all understand other cultures beliefs and  practices no matter how taboo they are.  It is difficult however to always understand and accept these cultural difference especially if they clash with the culture we belong to.  In addition, the Hindu culture seems to have little to no regards for the lives of the people that were born into their Dalit caste.  This can truly be troublesome for someone to accept that lives in a country that endeavors to show that all men and women are created equal.  We are far from perfect but far from this caste system as well.

O'Neill, T. (n.d.). Untouchable @ National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0306/feature1/

Jha, R. (2015, May 9). The mud-wrestler no-one wanted to touch - BBC News. Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32625666

A Mother's Love has No Limits

A Mother’s Love has No Limits

Philosophy has an interest term referred to as cultural relativism.  This theory suggests every human individual's actions and beliefs should be understood by everyone.  This refers to a person primarily having their own culture within.  This article from the BBC news is a prime example of this theory however sometimes this can be troublesome to relate to.   As you read ask yourself, should we even understand the " culture of a psychopath serial killer?  What about the culture of an unique person with a peculiar mindset?  Just some things to consider,  the world is full of different mindset and thought processes we can not account and categorize them all specifically.

The title may sound strange and that is because this story is truly just different, it may even be the first encounter of this with these circumstances.  "The unnamed mother and her husband are challenging an independent regulator's refusal to let them export the eggs from London to a US fertility clinic."  The reason for this exportation request is fulfilled the verbal wishes of her late daughter who died in your late 20's from bowel cancer.  Prior to her death, the young woman frozen her eggs knowing she didn't have long to live so could have children using a sperm donor.  The mother found an institution in the United States that was capable and willing to perform a procedure for about $92,000 to implant the eggs in her womb but London's institution housing the eggs has some reservations.  The daughter did not specify what she wanted to be done with her eggs, so they are cautious about releasing the eggs to her mother and her husband.  What the mother is doing seems to be very honoring to her daughter's wish and she is willing to do what is necessary.  In her mind, this may not seem unique at all but to others on the outside looking in it seem peculiar.  Regardless of how you feel or think the culture of “ a mother’s love having no limits” will continue to surprise us.

 Mother in legal battle to have dead daughter's baby - BBC News. (2015, May 9). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32652095

Genetically Eliminating Diseases

Genetically Eliminating Diseases

Our society is fascinated and has benefited the by scientific discoveries that we have made in research and experiments concern genes and chromosomes.  But how far is too far?  Can an unethical scientific experiment produce something value for the future?  Is worth it and is there a justifiable reason? This article on BBC news reports the stance the United States is taking as it applies to modifying DNA in embryos.  To paraphrazed, the United States will not fund this type of research but this type of experiment has been going on in China.  I must say that China has an unique outlook on population control which make me believe that they would not be completely against what we would consider "a line that should not be crossed."  The research is traying  to modify DNA at the genetics level in embryos to eliminate diseases that causes by defective DNA.  However, everyone doesn't see it as such a good thing after all.
"Dr Marcy Darnovsky, from the Center for Genetics and Society in the US, argued: "There is no persuasive medical reason to manipulate the human germline because inherited genetic diseases can be prevented using embryo screening techniques, among other means (Gallagher, 2015)."  There are additional screening processes that look for chromosomal defects before the embryo is implanted into the uterus.  However these treatments are normally for parents that are high risk for Down's Syndrome, etc.  The intent seems to be noble but the sacrifice to attain the goal of eliminating genetic defects may be too much.

Embryo screening. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.londonwomensclinic.com/london/embryo_screening

Gallagher, J. (2015, April 30). US 'will not fund research for modifying embryo DNA' - BBC News. Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32530334