I’m not bashing the military or anything, I have a pretty neutral opinion of the various wars and military operations the US has been involved in over the past decade or so.
I’ve been following the tragic story of the flatbed full of veterans that was hit by the train in Midland Texas and one thing that really stands out is the constant use of the term “hero” to describe the veterans. The truck towing the flatbed even had a huge red, white and blue banner across the front bumper that said “HERO’S ON BOARD!”. Now of course I’m sympathetic to anyone who gets hurt on the job, but if a guy loses his leg in a logging accident in Alaska, folks aren’t going to gush about what a “hero” he is. These veterans choose to join the military, decided the risks were worth the paycheck and chose to take the job. Some get hurt on the job, come home and boom - instant “hero” status for life.
Is the whole gushing over every vet as a “hero” just glurge or am I missing something?
I wonder if its overcompensation- Back in WWII, there were many men and women who did heroic things in the military. Then there was this apparent backlash to veterans during Vietnam. I wonder if the attitude now is some sort of cultural guilt about how they felt veterans were treated in the past.
Well, in some circles veterans and active service people are seen as taking a job that involves giving up a portion of their lives, and sometimes potions of their bodies, in activities that involve defending our country from enemies. Some would say these people deserve the additional respect that the term “hero” conjures. Surely you can see how that works, even if you do not accept it yourself?
how does getting hurt in the service of your country, doing a job you signed up for because you want to physically put yourself in danger for the ideals you believe represent the very core of American values and interests? why would anyone think it’s heroic to step into a long history of patriots who fought for the freedoms we feel entitled to–like the freedom to be a dumbass on internet forums–when that person’s life is altered forever due to injury in that line of duty? when they will never be emotionally the same again. when they’ll never be physically capable again. when their lives are shattered and they cannot get a good job…and they do it all for paltry money because it’s never about the money, ever, with them. it’s about the ideals and values.
why oh why would anyone appreciate that? because i mean, chopping wood–totally the same value.
It doesn’t, or at least, it shouldn’t. Getting injured when you’ve voluntarily gone into a line of work that entails you entering combat zones, is, along with actually dying, one of the risks of what you are getting paid for.
Um, lots of folks join the military because they are bored, want an adventure, want the education/training the military provides, need s paycheck or even want to be treated like a hero. Do you really think every grunt that joins the army holds these lofty ideals as the sole reason for joining up?
It’s all right here: these veterans choose to join the military. By choosing to join the military, you are saying that you are willing to do a job that may be extremely dangerous, knowing that you may be called on at a moments notice to go to an unfamiliar place and possibly be injured or killed, that you will not have the option to back out or say, “No, sorry, I’d rather not,” and that all of this will be in the service of your country, protecting and defending American citizens or those whom we deem worthy of protection. It is a sacrifice to join the military, and an even greater sacrifice to give life or limb. I am very liberal, and the only person in my family to have served was my father, who was drafted, but I have no problem at all calling anyone who chooses to join the military, knowing the possible implications, a hero.
let’s say they ALL join for why you think–because they hate their bodies and don’t want a very big paycheck. let’s pretend not a single one of them has any real ideological views for preserving america, its values or interests or ideals or freedoms.
what would you do if they DIDN’T *choose * to join? what would you do if we had no military at all? who cares why they joined–what if they just didn’t join? what if NO ONE did? where would that put us as a nation? where would that put YOU as an individual?
if you can imagine an america without willfully participating combatants and think it’d be just as nice as what we have now, then keep being unappreciative. but if you can possibly find it in your gourd to think “gee, it’s kinda neat we have a military AND I DON’T FORCEFULLY HAVE TO BE IN IT and america still has all this other great stuff i get to enjoy,” then maybe rethink your approach.
My uncle served in Norhern Ireland at the height of “the troubles” and was a complete asshole who treated his wife and children like they were living in a boot camp on his occasional visits home. Should I blame his being an arsehole on being an unappreciated hero? If only he’d been injured and recognised for such heroism, he might have been a nicer man. But I doubt it.
Do you think being spared forced military duty is something we should be eternally grateful for? Do you think I wouldn’t die to defend what I love and care for, if push came to shove? Give me an enemy heading in my direction, provide me with a decent automatic weapon, and I’ll gladly do my bit, but don’t expect me to travel thousands of miles to protect military-industrial complex assets. If you want that done, use your special forces and leave the normal soldiers to fight honourable battles and defend honourable interests.
Even after the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor, we only had about a 30% volunteer rate for WWII military members. The rest had to be drafted. So I do NOT believe that enough people would sign up to serve, even if an enemy hit our own shores.
We shouldn’t have to be grateful for anything. Should an 8stone weakling thank his lucky stars everyday that there are big, bold policemen out there “keeping him safe”?
It’s not really military specific - the entire use of the words hero and heroism has been used more and more frivilously all throughout our society. It’s almost meaningless at this point. People use it to describe victims who did nothing or people who just managed to save some other people in the process of saving their own ass. It won’t be long until our pizza delivery drivers are heroes for getting here on time.
I don’t know what it is, exactly - maybe it’s this post 9/11 world we live in since everything has changed! - maybe throwing the word hero around a lot has similar roots as the rest of the mindless jingoism.
If you had less volunteers, it might help you readjust your tactics to create a smaller, more efficient force, rather than a massive, lumbering beast completely reliant on continuous supplies of resources.
I would say that perhaps just being in the military makes you somewhat of a hero, and perhaps performing some extraordinary act or going on a dangerous mission while in the military makes you a hero, but simply being injured or attacked doesn’t make you more of a hero.
