Army's Meredith is cheerleader of week
Okay, you have my attention. I don't think I've ever seen the words "Army" and "cheerleader" in the same sentence, or at least not in the traditional cheerleading sense. But sure enough, the SI folks took time out to showcase Meredith Walton, cheerleader for the United States Military Academy.
Now we'll set aside the primary issue of whether or not I should be looking at pictures of cheerleaders 14 years younger than I am (or what the heck Sports Illustrated is doing plastering pictures of college cheerleaders all over its website). What really threw me for a loop is the fact that, on game days, she looks like this:
I mean, it makes sense. She's not just a senior. She's a senior at West Point. She's a cadet. So when the game's over, she hangs up the sweater and the tiny skirt and dons her country's uniform. Naturally.
This bugged me a lot, and I spent some time trying to figure out why. And I eventually came down to three faults of my own: arrogance, a lack of imagination, and fear.
I've always been of two minds about cheerleaders: sure, they're pretty. But they're also kind of dumb and pointless. Consider: they dress in uniform, they're relentlessly cheery no matter the situation, and they encourage everyone to think alike and act as a mob. (Actually, this explains a lot about the cheerleader we sent to Washington.) In short, I don't trust them, because I don't think they're capable of thinking for themselves, and they don't want anyone else to, either.
Arrogant, yes? Meredith seems to think so. Apparently, my attitude that bugs her, given her answer to the question, "What's a popular misconception about cheerleaders?"
That we are all dumb and peppy all of the time. I think I am pretty smart, and I have my frustrated, angry moments, too.
I hope she's pretty smart. She's studying to be an intelligence officer, which I realize doesn't merit the kind of respect it used to. But, I mean, the girl got into West Point. Sure, you can have connections, but you don't make it very long in a military academy without being a pretty smart cookie. So she's messing with my stereotypical disdain for cheerleaders. Except for being cute.
There's also the fear that I'm just a sexist pig. Do I have a problem with a pretty girl being in the military? I wouldn't have thought so. I think I'm a fairly pro-equality guy. Heck, I have a standing election policy of "When In Doubt, Vote for Women and Minorities." (Hillary is sorely testing this method.) So why should it bother me that an attractive woman would also want to serve in the military? I think it might be a kind of reverse sexism. Women have only been allowed in to West Point since 1976. It feels like a step backward to spend that opportunity leading cheers. Does MIT have cheerleaders? Why does the Army?
Therein lies my lack of imagination. Nowhere is it written that increased opportunities for women have to have some corresponding decrease in girliness. So Meredith wants to be in the Army. She also likes to wear a short skirt and cheer on the football team. She's an American; she wants it all. Who am I to say she shouldn't have it? She can cheer for her country, and she can die for it.
Ah, I think we've found it. Our armed forces are stretched as thin as can be. We've lost more American soldiers in Iraq than we lost civilians on September 11. The country is exhausted from four years of war, yet fiercely determined to support its troops and avoid the shameful treatment afforded veterans of Vietnam. And here, symbolizing our weakened-yet-resolute Army, is Meredith Walton. A future second lieutenant with pom-poms.
My third flaw: fear. Meredith Walton now stands as the face of the war for me. A sweet young all-American girl who might get shipped off to face death in a couple years, because we'll probably still be stuck in this mess by then. And I don't want her to die. She's a cheerleader, for pete's sake. Cheerleaders don't die in the desert. And frankly, neither should anyone else.
I definitely won't look at Sports Illustrated's Cheerleader of the Week again.
2 comments:
WOW! I just stumbled across your piece about, of all tings, my daughter. So, I thought I'd take a minute and fill in some of the blanks that might make Meredith's decision to attend West Point and be a cheerleader more clearly. First and most importantly, she had absolutely NO connection with the military or West Point when she started the difficult process of becoming a cadet. She decided as a 17 year old that she would like to "serve her Country" and realized that she could also obtain an education that her family could never afford for her. She worked incredibly hard and was accepted as an early admission. Only 15% of the cadets are women and for Meredith this amounted to 192 females to over 1100 young men. Difficult place to be a girl to say the least. Cheerleading, as it happened, wasn't what she set out to do at West Point. I didn't even know they had female cheerleaders when she applied. All cadets are athletes and must have 2 hours daily of physical activity. Believe it or not cheerleading is considered a sport and if you have ever bothered to watch what takes place on the sidelines at college and high school football games you would be amazed at the athleticism of these young men and women. They are strong and fit and have a tremendous dedication to supporting their different sports teams. Unlike most colleges Meredith didn't get to spend all summer practicing cheerleading but instead learned advanced combat training and jumped out of airplanes. She took on average 20 plus hours of course studies each semester. She underestimates her self and for this I've always been especaily proud. Yeah, she's smart. But more importantly, she works extremely hard and is a very dedicated and loyal young woman. She made life long friends and received an education that she never took for granted and gave her all to get the most out of the opportunity the 4 short years she had at West Point. She is currently a 2LT serving with the 224 Military Intelligence Battalion out of Savannah, GA. She will deploy for Iraq in June. She's beautiful inside and out and really has chosen to fight for the freedom we all take for granted. So, I'm glad you looked at the Sports Illustrated webpage and proud that they selected Meredith because hopefully others will realize that the face of our military has changed dramatically. They are pretty, cheerful, and wonderfully hopeful that they can make a difference. Thank you, Nola Walton
Ummmm like 1st of all I like reallyyyyyyy ..... sooooo dedicated....hoooah
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