I can see why this book would get on some people's nerves. Referring to cruel and unusual (or otherwise corporal) punishmentin general as the refusal o use evolution's highly-tuned mechanism for feedback for survival.

Pain as the basic mechanism of feedback built into us by millions of years of evolution. why would society refuse to use such a highly-perfected mechaism

Each chapter follows the same formula where some sort of conflict arises in order for the narrator or one of the commanding officers to deliver an explanation of human nature in through a militaristic lens. In this sense, it's kind of like a series of essays, which would be really insufferable if he didn't construct all these arguments to make himself out to be right all the time.

In respone to the question of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, whose right to life takes precedence. Liberty as the most alienable right of all in the sense that is must be repaid for or redeemed with blood on a daily basis. He speaks in hypotheticals which misses the point, but I appreacte that because it is a high school class and that's where the kids are coming at u from. "Juvenile delinquent" is a misnomer, there is no such thing for duty an adult virtue. For every so-called JD, there are many adult delinquents who enable that bad behavior (by their refusal to use corporal punishment, RIP Heinlein's kids' butts yeesh).

This book, I think, understands that it exists between the "soft times makes soft men, hard men make soft times" cycle and is really doing its darndest to glorify the "hard men" aspect of civilization

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