re: Map of enlistment rates by state: Why is Louisiana so unpatriotic?

Most teenagers, these days, join the military in order to pay for school. Louisiana has two things that make that less necessary:
1. TOPS
2. blue collar jobs

Louisiana's TOPS program makes an education at a state school affordable for most prospective students with any amount of drive or intelligence.

Louisiana offers a ton of opportunities for blue collar work relative to other states. Oil field trash, operators, dock workers, ship builders, fishermen, safety specialists, equipment operators, electricians, carpenters, ironworkers, welders, machinists, boilermakers, plumbers, pipefitters, masons, AC Techs, ect