Re: Public Apology to Bill from John P. re: Military Service


John P wrote:
> <adriansdurham@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in a message
>
> >> "it seems to me that soldiers as they exist currently as a group form a
> >> fairly large cross section of not particularly admirable people in
> >> society."
>
> Here's where I'd disagree with you on this particular comment - and I
> believe I made a similar comment. I believe that you can take any group -
> military, cops, accountants, hot dog vendors, etc. - and find
> representatives from all different societal or personality types. There will
> be those that excel at either extreme - either very good or very bad - and
> most of them will fall in the middle somewhere. You will find geniuses and
> heros and losers and whackos.
>
> So, while I'd agree that soldiers as a group form a fairly large cross
> section, our opinion parts ways when we get to "...not particularly
> admirable people in society."
>
> Since our military is and has been, for quite some years, an all volunteer
> force, I think it reasonable to respect and admire simply the act of
> volunteering. Why? Because not one of those volunteers is given any type of
> guarantee that they will not end up in something close to hell on earth.
> There is no guarantee they will not end their career in a body bag. No
> guarantee they'll have the same number of limbs, eyes or other body parts
> when they are done as they did when they enlisted. Since they have little
> choice over where they will go and what they will be tasked with when they
> get there, they can be admired for volunteering to be in such a position. In
> my experience, and from what I have heard from others, when it comes to
> brass tacks, almost every one them performs to the high standard expected of
> them. The guy you think is a loser because he lacks book smarts and grew up
> in a trailer park might very well end up being the guy who runs through a
> hail of bullets to pull your ass out of the fire. The selection process does
> pretty well at weeding out those who are not capable of performing in that
> manner. Those that slip through usually don't make it through boot camp. If
> they get beyond that and end up performing in a manner that hampers or
> endagers others, they usually fall overboard. ;-)
>

Sure. That's been said before -- they risk their lives to some extent
just by enlisting. But, now that I have said it in plain and simple
terms -- lets reconsider what you are saying for a moment. "They risk
their lives to some extent just by enlisting, so we should respect
them." Alaskan fisherboat crew risk their lives more as do underwater
welders, and yet those jobs do not carry such honors.

The reason this risking your life business carries the honors it does
is because they aren't just risking their life -- they are risking it
*for me* -- to defend *me*. Or, are they? That's the point -- it is
some risk, but it isn't exactly a crap shoot either and many people are
doing it for the job. Many even want the action in their lives --
jumping out of air planes and so on. But, how many are quiting a good
job to enlist to fight terrorism now that there is this war on terror,
for instance. Or, at the very least joined because they wanted to be
this honorable soldier that we keep imagining. I've known several both
in and out of the military and almost never was this really an accurate
description of what they were doing there.

> > That's right -- you got that *exactly* right. I've known a number of
> > people in the military. The mere fact that they were in the military
> > doesn't mean that much at all. A number of them are losers. Some of
> > them aren't. It's not their *military* service that makes them
> > special.
>
> While they may or may not earn special status in some other manner or
> endeavor, it is always true that their military service *does* make them
> special in that respect - no matter what else they do for the rest of their
> lives.
>

It sounds like this may have more to do with your fraternal feelings on
the matter than being an impartially considered position.

>
> > And besides that, I did not degrade anyone for serving in the military.
> > I didn't say that serving in the military reflects poorly on you -- I
> > just said that military service alone is not at all meritorious.
>
> Which is a resonable comment - but I disagree. Your mileage may vary. ;-)

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Scott Ridder on Fallujah
    ... >> What drives them is the love they have for their leaders, ... >of American lives and a ... decreased the risk of a second one? ... "disgruntled" and taken the bombing of a marine barracks in stride, ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: Blaming the victim? was: Re: from jms: too damned much stuff
    ... > Amy Guskin wrote: ... >> operative, risk the lives of her contacts, ruin the time and money invested ... >> the lives of the contacts, agents, and operatives who used and worked with ...
    (rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated)
  • Re: OT - cannabis email
    ... lives in Carterton, Oxfordshire, I have watched the video's on how it ... people who couldn't roll joints if they tried (an ex-teacher and an ... do and I would risk a criminal record do it all again in a heartbeat. ...
    (uk.media.tv.misc)
  • Re: Way off topic question
    ... >>>"Chickened out" has a very unpleasant negative connotation. ... They usually continue to avoid adversity,>> responsibility and risk rather than learn to cope with it and deal>> with it. ... They remain whiners all their lives. ... >> Even in Nam, very few good combat engineer mechanics got zapped, though some avoided that by competent use of>> weapons and field-expedient demo inventions when necessary. ...
    (rec.crafts.metalworking)
  • Re: United 93, the movie
    ... this post is befuddlin my dumb cracker mind: ... And you'd think that the fact that these ROTC guys ... are volunteering to put their lives on the line so that ... have cushy lives would have earned them some bonus points. ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)
Loading