It is born out of ignorance. Her sister may not be worthy of applause, but she’s no leech. As I said in my last post you are required to serve six years on active duty once you graduate from the Air Force Academy. That’s a longer term than anyone else who receives military money for college ever has to serve.
Furthermore her sister is probably destined for great things in her life. The academies are considered the be ultra elite places for undergraduate education. For the fields that they offer majors in they are by many considerd to easily be within the top 20 of all U.S. schools (though they aren’t really ranked by most laughable sources like U.S. News & World Report, the Princeton Review et cetera.)
You have to have done a very good job in school and have some pretty interesting extra curricular activities to get that congressional recommendation that is required for admission.
Eventhough competition has lessened in recent years the academies are still pretty difficult to get into, it’s not like sending an application off to your local state university.
As to the soldiers being applauded, I don’t necessarily agree with that. I was never applauded going to or from combat during my 20 year career and I don’t think I ever would have wanted that. I in fact did not like to speak about combat then, nor do I now. It’s an experience that forever changes your life, but it’s also one that most people like to keep fairly private.
The good soldiers that don’t end up becoming crazed hotheads don’t join the military for money, glory, medals, honor, et cetera. They join because they feel a certain calling, it is hard to explain. I think police officers would understand it.
I graduated first in my class from a fairly respected private high school. I did very well on my SATs and was also a fairly accomplished athlete. I was offered a scholarship from UPenn, and many other schools that probably are fairly respected. But my whole life ther were only two things I really ever considered being, a soldier or a police officer. I always felt there were great wrongs in the world and that I had to do something, no matter how small, to at least say I was trying to do something about it.
Maybe I read too many epic fantasy and science fiction novels as a kid, or maybe I watched too many Clint Eastwood movies. But I never could have lived with myself if I hadn’t decided to join up. And it had nothing to do with personal glory.
You don’t applaud one another in the military either, btw, so most soldiers really probably don’t know what to think about such a public display.
[Hijack]
The topic of this thread is not the military academies. I should not have brought that up, and I apologize for doing so. Furthermore, the topic is not my attitude towards the academies, or the cadets. It most certainly is not my relationship with my sister. I have never claimed that any of the academies are anything but extremely prestigious institutions; I apologize if I gave that impression.
I will continue this hijack only to say that my attitude is not born out of ignorance, nor jealousy. I am certainly not jealous of my sister’s education (I’m a freshman at a respected college, and as I’m not a math and science person, the Academies have nothing I’m interested in). I’m not ignorant of it, either: I was, in fact, living at home with my sister as she went through the application and decision processes, have visited her out there, talk with her nearly every day, and know far more than the average person about the way the academies work.
If anyone wishes to continue attacking my character, please feel free to do so in the Pit.
[/hijack]
Except that some wags would then take that as evidence that “they consider themselves above this sort of thing.”
For me, a quiet but sincere thumbs-up or smile works quite as well.
And count me in as well with those who feel that by now we have grown up to find it impolite to have any expression of censure against someone merely going home. BTW, most US troops, unless they’re moving as a large unit group, are only military-airlifted or flown on contracted charter to a main gateway airport or airbase. Then it’s regular airlines to their home towns. So they will be quite visible at airports.
Once upon a time (during Gulf I) I was in my Navy dress whites uniform going through the San Fransciso airport with two large bags. I was going from one gate waaaay over to the other end. A guy grabbed one of my bags and offered to carry it for me. I was very greatful and doubt that would have ever happened had I not been in uniform.
Not the same as being applauded (which I would have been extremely uncomfortable with) but appereciated all the same.
Not to be snide but when was the last time an American soldier did that? At least for an American living in America. I just mean to say that I could see this overbubbling of emotion by defenseless civilians if the soldiers were actually holding back enemies at the border or if that threat was even credible.
Not to be snide but when was the last time an American soldier did that? At least for an American living in America. I just mean to say that I could see this overbubbling of emotion by defenseless civilians if the soldiers were actually holding back enemies at the border or if that threat was even credible. But that’s not the case. While I can see people intellectually appreciating the military boys I’m not sure I understand it being felt quite so emotionally.
I’m getting from this thread it doesn’t happen too often- probably just the occasional guy gets swept up by emotion and some people follow along.
I don’t mean to be snide back, but what do you think the war in Afghanistan was all about?
Maybe you think the response disproportionate to the offense, but the fact is America and Americans were attacked on 9/11/01.
And in fact, my house was only a few miles from the Pentagon attack, and my office was right across the street from it. So I do appreciate those putting themselves between that marauding gang and my house.
So it’s still 9/11 fear then? I can see that, it’s just that most Americans saw police and firemen saving fellow Americans that day.
I’m not commenting on the actual bravery or anything of the Afghanistan action, I just wouldn’t think it had the emotional quality of defending the actual physical homeland.
And, notably, the troops are therefore not wearing uniforms solely to attract attention to their military service. Or at least, they don’t have the choice of changing clothes to prevent attention.
And luckily the US has had the advantage of that ideal situation for about 100 years.
You seem to want to take my comments as some comment on strategy or something. I’m clearly talking about the emotions of civilians, particularly those who would feel spontaneously compelled to applaud randomly encountered military personel.
Right. Do you think these emotions are misplaced somehow?
Because your post aside, it hasn’t been 100 years since we’ve last faced an act of war on our soil. It’s been just over three years, and we still have troops in the Mideast as a direct consequence of that action.
It may gall some to accept this uncomfortable truth, but many of our troops are abroad for our direct protection, rather than the protection of our interests or our allies. What you see as 9/11 fear, CarnalK, is more properly an appreciation of that fact and an appreciation of the soldiers assuming those duties.
By and large, the American public understands this. This is why people lined up to volunteer to be bumped off of flights so soldiers could get home in the cite I provided above.
Don’t know if you are actually reading my whole posts, but I said above that I would willing give my seat up for a sodier returning from a war zone. That is a common show of empathy and respect. Breaking into applause is not.
The difference in emotional impact is akin to a policeman actually stopping a mugging from happening to you and hearing about a police raid on a drughouse. If you think there is no difference then I guess you are really different than me.
Well you seem to be incurably ignorant of my point. It has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a good offense=good defense but the emotional impact of having actual fighting at the doorstep.
If it makes my point more palatible- I’m not saying I know that the applause is fear based, even in most cases. People with loved ones in the military could just be full of joy to see anyone, even unrelated people, coming home from combat. Who knows what else.
Sorry if my last post was curt. I know it’s the custom on this board to assume the worst and think I’m labelling some group and hurling veiled insults. It does get tiring though.