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 Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 1:56 pm
Well, I'm part of a military family, and knowing them, I automatically respect them. From what I've heard, a lot of soldiers wouldn't want to fight, and in battle, they have to survive and they need to fight for the friend beside them.
And I suppose that the reason to#2 is that they've been in tough training for weeks, and being yelled at to do physical stuff all of the time, can toughen a person up. And sometimes they tend to forget that softer side of them. It seems to happen from a lot of stories I've read and heard. Plus, I suppose that being in the military can also make one realize how precious the things and people of civilian life is, so they defend it very strongly.
I can't say too much because I've never been in bootcamp (okay, I was standing a few feet away from an officer and that was freaky!) and actually fought, so this is just my view on those two questions you asked.
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Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:27 pm
I am in the military now. Just because someone wears a uniform does not automatically earn my respect.
Look at all those women who are sexually assaulted by soldiers. Do those soldiers deserve your respect? THis is something very near and dear to my heart.
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:41 pm
1. I usually do. x] Since I'm in ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) And I'm going through some rough stuff. It's hard even though it's not real, but it's fun. I respect them because they show leadership.
2. I think they're defended so aggresively because they try to help the country and us. When people make fun of ROTC, I sort of snap on them because they don't know what they do.
Yea, that's all I think xd
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:13 pm
I don't automatically respect the military because I don't automatically respect any government's choices. I don't necessarily disrespect them either.
I've gotta say, I don't really understand what the military had to do with my rights. If we relied solely on the military we would not be in a good place.
I mean, sure, back when there were fascist regimes intent on conquering different regions, the military aided in liberation. But those days have long since passed.
Peacekeeping is still valid, though.
I think dissent is more productive than silent consent.
I would never, ever advise anyone to join the military because, well... it's not a good idea. You become a tool of the system (and I mean that in the most literal sense). It's just that you become the means by which an authority exercises their wishes. I'm not automatically saying these wishes are bad, but the fact is that no soldier has any real say in the matter.
I don't disrespect a person for making that choice, but it doesn't make them any better a person either. It doesn't make them any more worthy of respect.
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:27 pm
I give massive props to US armed forces. However, I don't think that just because you wear the uniform, it automatically makes you a hero. I feel that you have to have gone into another country and really served in order to get that respect.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:47 am
I will be kind to anyone, but I do not automatically respect anyone in a uniform. Period. As far as I'm concerned, the respect must be earned through their actions, and simply being a soldier or a police man does not grant that.
I have met several soldiers who are, in all honesty, jerks who believe the uniform makes them an untouchable hero and means they can do anything they want to civvy property. They routinely trashed the housing I lived in prior to this one (ruined rugs, let their kids scribble on the walls, let animals run free without collars or leashes to dig up lawns and chase cars in the parking lot - one locked her two large dogs in the house for two weeks, no food and water) they played loud music at all hours, and at one point a party got out of hand and several arrests were made. All participants were soldiers.
I do not feel the actions of those soldiers are worthy of respect.
On the other hand, you can look at the Sarge who moved in next door to me. Quiet, friendly, and more than willing to stop the ruckus other soldiers created before it got out of hand. His actions made him worthy of respect.
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Cranium Squirrel Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:11 am
The concept of respecting soldiers used to be universal. Trust me, I know enough soldiers who are dicks to fill a yearbook, but there is still reason to respect them.
Whether you support the current war or not is irrelevant. War is inevitable, and someday America will be invaded (again).
The idea is this, people in the military are in the position that they may very well be called upon to give their life. If they don't, and they desert, they (used to be executed) are usually imprisoned for a very long time. These men and women are also the ones who will defend us against hostile nations, they make very little money, and it is now fashionable to disrespect them. So in short here are some bullets why they deserve respect.
1) Willing to lay their life on the line for their country (or face severe punishments for cowardice)
2)Get paid little for their services
3)Their training is grueling
4)Many who go to war, may survive, but will have to live with repercussions including, but not limited to, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, disability, severe emotional damage, etc.
5)If you understand the conditions of global politics, and even the very nature of war, you realize just how important the individual soldier is to world stability and peace is.
I had some other reasons, but having not had my coffee today, I can't really remember them. But if nothing else, you have to respect them because quite frankly, they had the balls to realize what enlisting meant, the risks involved, but they still chose to do it. Furthermore, not all soldiers are "stupid" as most believe. The military academies are among the hardest schools in the world to get into. It is estimated that one year there would cost $300,000 if you were to pay privately. They only recruit the best and brightest to go there.
I suppose I should slightly amend my statement. You should automatically respect them, and still retain some respect for their service. However, if they are a complete a**, you simply respect the uniform. As my Poppop was told in WWII "If you hate an officer, just salute the uniform, not the man"
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:42 pm
I've known plenty of people who ran off to join the military because they wanted to shoot people, they couldn't get a job, they were pressured into it, or they wanted their college paid for. So many people join the military with the expectation of NEVER even seeing combat. They aren't willing to risk their lives, they just want a free ride. My neighbor was in the Marines, and he's a piece of s**t. You don't need to be an exceptional person to join the military, nor will it magically make you a good person. Another problem is that so many people come back from the military expecting to be practically worshiped, even if they never did anything more heroic than swatting away a fly while fixing a computer.
I'll admit, I've always had an inherent distrust of the military. My father was drafted into the army and was a door gunner in Vietnam. He knew his fair share of psychopaths, liar, thieves, idiots, and general scum. He also has always been one to buck authority (which I inherited), and didn't take well to the military's goal of turning all soldiers into robots blindly following their orders.
If everyone in the military joined because they're brave and heroic, that would be one thing. But that isn't the case.
I respect many soldiers, but I respect them for reasons other than their ability to wear a uniform.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:56 pm
Matthew Strife But if nothing else, you have to respect them because quite frankly, they had the balls to realize what enlisting meant, the risks involved, but they still chose to do it. Sadly, this is oftentimes not the case. In the US, military recruiters go to freaking high schools and talk about how totally amazing the military is, and how you're guaranteed a job for X amount of time, and your college will be paid for, and you'll make friends for life, and you'll get to see so much of the world, blah blah blah, while downplaying the chances of being shipped to the front lines and getting an RPG to the face. I sat in on one of these recruiting sessions, so I'm not talking out of my a**. These are 17 year olds they're trying to recruit (anyone at the school could attend, so there were kids much younger than that being fed their rosy view of the military), considered too stupid and irresponsible to even smoke a cigarette, being promised so much. It was propaganda, plain and simple. The poor kids were sucked in by the idea of having their college paid for. The delinquents were sucked in by the idea of having a job. The testosterone-drunk assholes were sucked in by the idea of shooting people. One guy I knew decided to join the military because he thought the experience would make him a better writer. We want to believe everyone who joins the military is brave and amazing, but so much of the time they're just naive kids.
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