Odd that such a thing didn’t happen during any of the major sanitation strikes that I’m aware of.
Nothing personal, but this is the sort of thing that freaks me out a bit. I served 4 years, did an awesome job was well-respected and should have stayed in but I made a bad decision with regard to opting to raise a family. I brought honor to the uniform but I didn’t do it for Shodan, I did it for myself to compensate for insecurities.
Based on what was going on in my head it seems pretty surreal to hear someone thanking me for choosing a job that was literally an alternative to suicide.
I always assume that soldiers do what they do because of who they are. Just like cops, doctors, nurses, teachers, firemen and dozens of other professionals who can never really be compensated for the need they fill, for us.
I have some initial respect for the choice they made, regardless of why. Beyond that, I’d say it’s about the individual.
Now, you tell us, are there times when it’s onerous to be the receiving end? (I say this as having had an experience as a caregiver, (very hard, long time), that garnered me admiration and respect that seemed out of proportion, often making me uncomfortable and was, sometimes, onerous.)
I usually don’t explicitly tell them so because I know this kind of thing can be a sensitive issue for some, but I do have a special amount of respect for the combat veterans. To me, being a combat vet seems like a sacrifice on a different level than the sacrifices I’ve accepted as part of my job. I’m a doctor, and I do think that being a doctor requires many sacrifices, but I certainly never had any serious fear of being killed in my line of work. I didn’t see my friends killed in front of me. Even though there were times I hardly had any time to interact with my family, at least my family knew that I’d most likely safely return home every night.
I’ve met a lot of Vietnam vets as part of my work in the VA hospitals. The more of them I met, the more I developed compassion for the things they endured.
While there is a certain percentage that play up claims of “PTSD” for the sake of trying to get compensation, there are definitely guys who legitimately experienced unspeakable horrors and whose lives were forever changed because of it.
Even if the reason that someone joined the service to begin with was selfish, they’re accepting risks that most of us would never be willing to accept, and for that I do think they deserve some respect.
IMHO - no. There’s a reason it’s called it’s called “service”. The current culture of hero-worship toward those who’ve served makes me very uncomfortable.
Here is a 2-1/2 year old conversation on a related topic US Dopers: Thanking soldiers for their service - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board
I was an officer for 8 years during predominantly peacetime, roughly the Reagan administration.
My take is that during the 70s and 80s the pendulum had swung way too far that being a servicemember was frankly socially unacceptable in most people’s eyes. At best they were indifferent.
And the simpering and fawning we see now is too far the other way.
I’d much rather see the simpering & fawning converted to actually taking good lifelong care of the folks who’re damaged physically or mentally by their service. Stop with the yellow ribbons & double the VA’s budget & clean house throughout their lazy management.
The people, like myself, who do/did their job with no lasting harm deserve their pay and, if they qualify, their pension. And the same respect all people should have for all other people doing something beneficial for society. Which includes the person running the checkstand at the grocery store. But not much, if anything, more.
It’s the ones who end up killed or crippled who are owed more than we can ever repay. It’d be nice if we actually tried to make good on our debtas a society to them.
Here’s the thing…it’s not JUST the potential for lead poisoning that earns my respect. It’s the ‘I will do what my country tells me to do…’ even if it sucks.
Now, what happens after the ellipsis is open for political debate, but it’s best expressed by ‘support the troops, end the war’.
Anybody that earns a paycheck potentially does something they don’t like for money, but they have the option of quitting, and a VERY low incidence of fatality as a result of that job.
Now, You got into the service because you’re a fuckup and it was a choice of last resort? I’m okay with that. It is an avenue that has created a great number of people with a work ethic and moral center they wouldn’t ordinarily have.
Do you deserve a leg up in the future? Potentially. It’s shorthand for this guy did something a large number of people don’t have the stones to do. Are there people that don’t deserve that? OF COURSE there are. That’s because life is rarely a black or white, but it some times has shortcuts that make decisions easier.
I agree that the current fawning over those in the military is in part compensation for past disrespect. I also think it’s been encouraged by politicians in order to help smother criticism of recent wars.
I grew up as a military brat during the Vietnam era, with my father serving for 30 years, so I’m familiar with the sacrifices service people and their families make. It’s a service job that deserves the respect any service job gets, no more, no less. What vets and their families are owed is support for decent benefits and to stop being sent off to fight these endless bogus wars.
My personal opinion is that yes, members of the military are entitled to respect from the general public. They volunteered to face danger in order to protect society. I don’t distinguish between those who actually go into combat and those who don’t because all members of the military agree to go where they’re assigned.
I’d include policemen and firemen in the same category. Teachers, doctors, and trash collectors are all doing valuable work but there isn’t the same element of facing danger for the sake of others.
I do feel there are people who go too far in their respect of the military. Not because there’s anything wrong with showing respect but because I feel some people have a personal motive for showing respect. They’re looking for reflected glory. They’re applauding people in uniform but they in turn want people to applaud them because of how much they applaud people in uniform.
A politician shouldn’t be standing surrounded by soldiers, sailors, police officers, and firemen. Because he’s trying to imply he’s one of them. A politician should be standing out with the crowd applauding them from the audience.
Trash collectors face more risk of fatality on the job than police officers and firemen. Cite.
I have respect for anyone in a combat zone. But lets face it a military man who never leaves a base and spends his time on a base in the USA, is much safer than Joe Average walking through the West side of Chicago.
Just because you could be called into combat isn’t enough, after all anyone could be drafted and called in.
What draft?
Right now, anyone who joins faces the possibility of going into combat.
I think that’s also something that makes people uncomfortable. They see what the country asks people to do, and then they see people who are happy to sign up and follow those orders, knowing full well* what they entail.
*In theory. 17 with parental consent may be a bit of a stretch for some folks.
But that’s where gross oversimplification, reality, and unintended consequences all collide in a big mess.
-The lion’s share of the people complaining would not, outside of a draft, consider making that sacrifice.
-Failure to follow that order to drive your HUMVEE from point A to point B might be the difference between 10 soldiers dying and the freeing of a country. (yes, I know, but work with me here.)
-History being written by the victor, it’s hard to tell what actions will bring about what results in a conflict. Do you end up with a Vietnam War or a Falling of the Berlin Wall?
-People ‘happy to sign up’ rarely have the foggiest clue for what they’re in for.
-One of the deepest rooted emotions in some people is a love for their country, it’s a strong as other’s love for God and family. It’s right up there with love for your children. If you don’t understand it, you don’t have to…just know it exists.
There are BAD people out there doing BAD things to other people out there. The military exists to minimize that BAD. It is also piloted by humans with imperfect results. Whaddaya gonna do?
True. So do farmers and lumberjacks and fishermen. But people in these occupations die in equipment accidents. It’s unfortunate and the result is tragic. But they weren’t risking death in order to protect somebody else - they were just unlucky. So I see a distinction in moral terms.
My bolding:
Neither do most US soldiers of the last generation who might suffer fatality. Unless you mis-spelled “oppress” when you typed “protect”
I don’t care why you did it. I care **that **you did it.
Regards,
Shodan
So…motive is irrelevant to the deed?
I meant what I wrote. We differ in our opinions on this subject.