A typical child growing up in the United States lives inside a bubble of protection, or, really a series of protection bubbles. First, the child is protected by parents and family. Then, the child is protected by law enforcement. Finally, the child is protected by Marines and others standing guard all around the world.
There is evil in the world and the child must be protected. The weak, the frail, the fearful cannot provide protection, It requires the strong. Compass Points contributor, Muddy Boots, sent in a quotation from famed author George Orwell. Muddy Boots suggested that there is a worrisome trend in the Marine Corps that future Marines will not need to be strong, they will just need to be technologists and button pushers. George Orwell disagrees.
What's the MCMAP motto? "one mind, any weapon", I always thought it overly cliche, but I liked the point.
-Speaking of cliche, as much as I hate to quote Starship Troopers: "There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men." - SGT Charles Zim, p. 61; responding to Ted Hendrick's question on the purpose of knife-throwing. More than just an individual assessment, this very much applies to cultures and organizations...and is not self sustaining without effort.