http://opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010381
Robert A. Heinlein’s Legacy
As they say on the moon, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!”
BY TAYLOR DINERMAN
Thursday, July 26, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
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In 1958, in response to what he saw as a liberal effort to weaken America’s military, he set aside the “Sex and God” book on which he had been working and wrote “Starship Troopers.” This was probably his most controversial book. In it he imagines a future society in which the right to vote must be earned by volunteering for service, including service in the military. In response to claims that the book glorifies the military, he wrote: “It does indeed. Specifically, the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who puts his frail body between his loved home and the war’s desolation–but is rarely appreciated.”
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I read that in high school, and I still think that the “right to vote” should be earned. The book makes the point that only vets understand. Everybody else is “debating society” (quoting from memory). I know one thing. If only vets were voting, then there would be far fewer wars! I’m a legatee of Heinlein. And, I grok liberty!
P.S.: The reviewer forgot the ants quote.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
None of which can be done by any graduates of gooferment schools these days.
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Reinke Faces Life 