Just read the article on Hezbollah that Helga posted on her blog. I know we will talk about it in class today, but my first impression of the article was although Hezbollah is a terrorist organization in the eyes of the U.S., these Madhi Scout-type youth programs are not foreign to America. It reminded me of an article from my marketing class that our teacher brought in about the newly opened Army Experience Center in a shopping mall in Philadelphia, PA. In order to meet the required number of enlistments, the Army came up with an idea to market the Army to a younger target audience - children who like playing toy soldiers and will one day be old enough to enlist. Until then, the Army will thrill them with combat simulation video games and the Army Experience Centers that have helicopter ride simulators, this one expertly positioned next to a video arcade and a skate park, presumably to draw in the target crowd.
Although Hezbollah is considered by this country to be a terrorist organization, they have an eerily similar strategy in this sense to United States Army, in trying to galvanize support. In the Army's case, using activities such as video games and simulations is a blatant appeal to younger children, in order to impress the Army brand into their awarenesses early on. Children always talk about what they want to be when they grow up, and this Army Experience Center is undoubtedly designed to implant a military career in young minds, and if it is effective, the idea will stick until they are old enough to enlist.
The idea of little children's minds essentially being recruited to the military is pretty disgusting. It desensitizes them to killing and warfare at a young age, which could have serious consequences on society. I know that little kids love violent video games, but somehow the Army affiliation seems so wrong, because it crosses the line of the video game being just a game into impending reality. If the army teaches children that violence is fun and it is rewarded with accolades and respect, can we really expect no harm to come with this mentality? The world has seen some brutal wars, not to mention the fact that we are in the midst of one now. My perspective on this may be very skewed since I have grandfathers on both sides that were severely injured in WWII and it affected the rest of their lives and their families. Anything that promotes warfare is not OK with me, I know that video games are supposed to be all in fun but really I hate the idea of little kids pretending to shoot guns even if its a video game because they are KILLING PEOPLE!! Even though it's fake, it disturbs me to see someone so young and innocent inflicting pain without being old enough to know what would really happen in real life if they were on the other side of that gun.
From a marketing standpoint, this strategy is probably effective because it shows the action and excitement involved in military operations. But socially, this campaign should be promoting the real virtues that come from being in the military - discipline, exercising good judgment, believing in a cause, and camaraderie.
This path seems to be closer to what the Mahdi Scouts promote, by instilling their religious principles and encompassing daily rituals. Given that these beliefs promote terrorist acts on other cultures, races, and religions, but beliefs nonetheless. I don't know all the details of Hezbollah, but after today's class I'm sure I will have a more comprehensive idea of what they stand for....
EDIT: So Hezbollah seems to be a tricky situation... improving the quality of life in Lebanon through infrastructure, sanitation, medical attention... yet still a militant terrorist organization. As usual, it's difficult to disagree with all aspects of an organization i.e. them intentionally killing people with different beliefs than they do, but without Hezbollah it looks like a lot more people in Lebanon would be worse off. They still do evil things, but it's a small comfort to see that they aren't the cave dwelling terrorists that the media perpetuates.