A position I’ve heard a few times is that there’s a distinction between military duty in general and military duty in this particular war, the notion being that since every single (surviving) servicemember has had the opportunity to get out of the military since the war started, the entire thing is made up of people who volunteered to fight in a war that a lot of people find dispicable, so their usual respect and gratitude toward servicemembers has sort of gone temporarily out to lunch.
Again, I don’t necessarily subscribe to this run-on sentence, but it might be where some of the “hate” is coming from.
You’d be wrong then. Having been through a major natural disaster, I can tell you that the military presence and assistance was significant. They provided food, water and shelter, cleared debris, transported assistance workers and residents, performed first aid, provided security, and numerous other activities. The NG’s ability to mobilize quickly and efficiently far surpasses that of FEMA or the Red Cross. That’s what they do and it works very well when there’s a great deal of destruction and chaos. If I never had a prior reason to be proud of our servicemen, I did then. There humanitarian efforts were enormous and appreciated. And I, for one, liked the Chicken a la King MREs.
If you ever find yourself a victim of a major natural disaster, I sure as hell hope the National Guard is there for you, because those FEMA guys are bureaucrats, plain and simple, and the Red Cross doesn’t have nearly the resources that the military does*. It makes a difference, for sure.
Not to discount the efforts and mission of the Red Cross, which is a great organization and I was grateful to have them around too.
Someone up-thread said that maybe people don’t respect the military because they don’t personally know any military people. He is saying that he finds it hard to believe there is anyone who doesn’t know some military people. Just like it’s hard to believe everyone hasn’t at least heard of Jesus.
Just curious - those of you who are grateful for military service - are you as appreciative of the efforts made by members of the Iraqi army who died bravely defending their country against an invasion? Or the Viet Cong, resisting colonialism?
Because it seems to me that in terms of men of arms making sacrifices in support of causes they believe in, they stand on an equal footing as the US military they faced. Plus, IMO, in at least those two conflicts, our opponents enjoyed the higher moral ground.
Well, I think soldiers in general deserve some respect just like doctors and firefighters deserve respect in general.
But geez, American soldiers serve America. Should I bow before the Queen of England just because she’s a queen? Hell no. Ain’t my queen. We don’t have one and Americans don’t bow to them.
That’s certainly an opinion that you can hold. I personally don’t see it in quite as black/white terms as you do.
Neverless, I think we can agree that soldiers of many nations conduct themselves in battle according to orders decided from above - and apart from things like war crimes, when ultimate credit or blame is apportioned, the bulk of it lies on the leadership that ordered the soldiers to battle, not the individual soldiers themselves.
Well, I was raised to honor authority, regardless of whether the authority is justified (not saying that’s the case here, just explaining how much respecting authority is a gut-reaction for me.)
So in the presence of a military person, I would show respect and probably a little reverence, regardless of my feelings about the Iraq war, though I’d be way too shy to say something like, ‘‘thanks for your service.’’ I’m also wary in saying that of coming across as pro-war, which I’m not.
One thing I’ve observed lately is that a lot of military personnel not actually in direct combat tend to do the same sort of things do-gooder volunteers do. They provide emergency relief, they try to create structure and help people the best way they know how. Even hearing about what many military folks do in Iraq, the majority of them are not killing people, they are supporting infrastructure and taking on the very difficult task of rebuilding a community. Whether they should be there or not doesn’t even enter into it-- they have no control over that–what matters to me is that they care enough about other people to work that hard and don’t really expect anything in return. They signed their lives away trusting that our country would use them to create the greatest common good, and even if that trust was abused, they are clearly trying to do the best they can with what they have been assigned to do.
Since I’m really into that kind of thing (giving your time in volunteer service), I’ve actually been surprised to discover that I, the proudly bleeding heart liberal, have a lot more in common with the military than I ever realized before.
So while I am fundamentally anti-military, I have respect for anyone who believes enough in an ideal that they will leave their comfortable life and go do hard work for what they believe is the greater good.
That being said, the video in question is pure glurge, and I wouldn’t be surprised if actual military people found it insulting. It seems disingenuous to fawn all over the military because what it means for an enlisted individual varies widely… I’m sure no two experiences are alike, and maybe I’m contradicting myself by implying everyone who joins the military cares about other people. What I’m trying to say is, we don’t even really know what we’re thanking them for.
I feel that all soldiers derserve respect. Does it make a diiference who’s side they fight for? Not to me.They fight for their brothers in arms and because they are ordered too.Civilization, we would be savages without it. I am just one man, though. No one of importance. Just a citizen of this great counrty of ours, the United States.
I screwed up the quotes. I don’t have much time it’s Mothers Day almost. I love my mother and my wife’s also.
I think our country would be much better off if 90% of the military men and women were out of jobs. As it is now, they’re being paid with my tax dollars to do a job I resent them doing, which I believe do much more harm to me and my country than good.
To me, servicemen seem like loan broker middlemen. They’re doing an unneccessary job and leeching off the economy, making things worse for everyone.
I’d actually agree with that if you replace military with politician.
The thing is, it is necessary to have a military force that is trained and ready to perform all the myriad duties they perform even outside of conflict. How could you possibly expect the military to respond in a timely manner to any critical situation if they didn’t have a trained and ready force at their disposal?
I agree that there may be a significant amount of waste and expense that could and should be streamlined. I would also agree that the Iraq conflict is a huge part of this and I’m not convinced that we’re accomplishing anything there other than contributing to further ME destabilization. But, that’s not the military’s fault; that blame lies squarely on the shoulders of our elected officials and, to a lesser extent, the voting public that allowed them the ability to make those decisions.
Active Duty Naval Officer here. This is a great post (I’ll say the same for olivesmarch4th) and, IMO, captures the big picture, which I see missing from so many people–especially those with attitudes like NinjaChick’s.
For people like Tanaqui and NinjaChick,, a couple points-- many folks in the service don’t agree with Iraq, yet they join (and stay in) the service because it’s a life they respect or need or enjoy. There are many benefits, and to judge a career or stint in the military based on the current conflict is unfair, as Mr. Moto pointed out. Judge your President and Government, but don’t judge the military. The orders they (in the military) receive are legal and thus they must be followed.
Also, while we may not be protecting you in particular from any immediate threat, you may want to consider what will happen if/when we pull out from the Middle East. The terrorists will still hate us. 9/11 happened on our soil for a reason–it didn’t happen in any of our many overseas deployment sites. So, do you really think all of the attacks will simply go away, or is there a very real possibility many of them will simply follow the front, as it were, and start happening here in the U.S.? I’m certainly not a fan of the Iraq war, but it does seem to be serving as a lightning rod for all of these fanatics and keeping the war over there and not over here. Furthermore, if you enjoy living in this superpower, bear in mind that we wouldn’t be a superpower without our military. I’ve been all over the world and from my observation, living in the U.S. is far and away better than anywhere else. The lifestyle you enjoy–culturally, physically, and war-free-- is in large part due to our military.
And I’m with Mr. Moto, Otto–I can read between the lines enough to see disdain (to put it mildly), despite the wording.
And for those who think we should simply quit because you don’t agree with the war… what in the world do you really think’ll happen if we did that? For starters, most of our obligations are not that easily shed. The government doesn’t have to let us go. Even if they, did, then look out for a draft, no matter how unpopular that would be.
As for the OP, I think it’s silly. Why not just a simple handshake or “Thanks”? Heck, I just want people to think it. I don’t much care if they externalize it.
Lastly, NinjaChick, your comparison of our volunteer military to volunteering as a teacher still has me scratching my head in disbelief. Our junior enlisted guys make under 30k, sometimes even less than 20k, per year. The same guys going door to door in Baghdad, the same guys manning the security checkpoint in Fallujah, all just a breath away from a firefight, mortar round, RPG, or roadside bomb. Somehow they endure this in the cold climes of the Afghanistan winter and the blazing heat of the Iraqi summer. How in the world does this compare to a teaching job in the States? As I said earlier, there are many reasons we all have which compel us to serve. I think I can speak for most of us when I say that some of the basic ones are a desire to serve our country, a love for that country (which transcends the current politcal climate), and a belief that all in all, a strong nation requires a shield and weapon.
Month after month, and for many, year after year, of serving in the sandbox, away from family and friends, all for relatively little pay… and the only recognition you can muster for that is the above quote. Wow.
Seeing a guy walk around in uniform, giving him that ‘distant’ vibe, staring while pretending not to stare, ‘too polite to be openly rude’ attitude… changing that around might be nice.
Guys (and girls) deployed abroad are doing shit they don’t want to do, fifteen months at a time, ‘for’ an American public they increasingly feel has forgotten about them or openly resents them for it.
Oh, not just the Middle East. People think we can disband the military and the whole world will just get along and most of them won’t suddenly appear on our doorstep?
The US military is what’s allowed a whole lot of European kids to not choose a military life.
Sorry. No offense. Me stupid. I still don’t get it.