What next, was there really no donkey dreaming of being a Clydesdale??
This pretty much describes the phenomenon of surprise events in general. My family went through an annoying vogue for a few years when every party had to be a surprise party (including my 30th birthday). It’s always more about the self-satisfaction/self-aggrandizement of the people doing the surprising, rather than the surprise-ee. Turning a serious emotional moment like a family reunion into a reality tv stunt is exploitative and distasteful. And it doesn’t surprise (ha!) me at all that such things can actually be harmful to kids.
I keep expecting to see a story where the returning service member was in town but his family was killed in a car wreck headed to the baseball game for their surprise.
I stand and clap two to three times per game for something service related at hockey games but it seems to almost be desensitizing at some point.
The current adulation of the military is both annoying and disturbing. The coming home stories are obnoxious and the kids look completely traumatized to me. I appreciate that there are discounts and such for service members, and I take advantage of that every week at the local grocery. But it’s over the top: the clapping and cheering and thanking everybody wearing a uniform is just gratuitous bullshit.
In 23 years, I never, because of my uniform:
Was given priority for anything.
Had a meal bought for me.
Had a drink bought for me.
Was welcomed home by anybody other than my family.
Was given gifts.
Was applauded.
Was thanked for “my service”.
It was enough to get a paycheck every two weeks for doing my job. When I came home from deployments, my kids had a tough enough time getting used to someone they hadn’t seen for 6-9 months. Having me pop out of a box would have frightened and confused them.