<HTML>I understand your point, but fail to see how it doesn't also apply to Amway distributors, members of a high school debate team, dentists, Fugazi fans, pot smokers, and baseball card collectors. stannard In a message dated 4/3/2003 10:39:02 AM Mountain Standard Time, flagrant_sake@yahoo.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">the U.S. Marines is a cult organization. now that i think about it, it is probably common knowledge actually. still it is shocking to see it displayed in such a brazen and explicit manner such as this: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/speakout/debate/marine_1-2.html "I felt alienated from many other people who would not or could not understand my decision to do something that seemed more quantifiable to me than striving to follow my older sister and brother into some 'prestige' college." doesn't that guy sound like he needs to be 'deprogrammed'? that article is text book cult behavior patterns. alienation/succeptability/ self loathing/ remade into the image of the collective/etc.  i was actually unaware that high schools were required to register all student addresses with the armed services. i think my highschool had accidentally registered me with the Mormons instead. i was pretty heavily recruited by the Mormons in my high school days. ~M.E.</BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>