Veterans Day and a caution against the cult of the military

[marmar]

Veterans Day and a caution against the cult of the military
Does it honour anyone's sacrifice to use them to trump doubt about the justice of a war – or simply abuse them all over again?

Bob Garfield
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 November 2012 19.44 EST


The video is lovely, affecting and – considering the subject matter – reasonably understated.

A 60-ish guy sits at a lunch counter when a younger man, in army fatigues, walks in and orders a coffee. With no particular fanfare, the waitress serves him … on the house. Side by side, the two men exchange glances, and the younger catches a glimpse of the elder's forearm tattoo.

As the soldier makes his way with the coffee to a table, a diner approaches him to say:

"Thank you for your service."

A little boy poses next to him for a photo with a real, live hero.

In America, such offerings of appreciation are now commonplace. A soldier in uniform can scarcely navigate an airport terminal without being accosted every 30ft with spontaneous expressions of appreciation. Because, as we are reminded again and again and again, by play-by-play announcers and presidents, men and women in the uniform are heroes defending our freedom. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/12/veterans-day-caution-cult-military

[MineralMan]

1. Those who serve in ranks below the Staff Officer level

never make any policy. They are in the military, but are not decision-makers. They're serving for a variety of reasons, which can range from economic need to a family tradition of military service. Unless they have personally engaged in some atrocity, they are just participants in plans that are made at much higher levels. Often, those plans are made by people who have never served in the military at all.

The military guy or woman having a cup of coffee on the house in a diner didn't start any war. If you want to know why that person joined the military, ask him or her. Generally, they'll be glad to tell you. There are many reasons. For example, I joined the USAF when I was at odds with myself about my direction in life, in part because my father had served in the Air Force during WWII. It was 1965. I had dropped out of college because of being at odds with myself, and the draft was looming. So, I joined the USAF, which sent me off to language school so I could be a linguist for them. For a period of four years, I let someone else decide what I should be doing. During that four years, I figured out what I wanted to do, and set out to do that after my discharge.

I didn't start the Vietnam war. I didn't even participate in it, except at about four levels removed from it. But, I'm a military veteran. I don't look for any handouts, although I did use the GI Bill to return to college.

If you see someone with eagles on their uniform or stars, you can ask them about policy and why the military does things as it does. Anyone below that rank is a member of the military, but has no role in policy making. Some fight. Some type. Some translate stuff. Each has a reason for having joined the military. Since there's no draft any longer, that's never the reason. Ask the individual and you'll get the story from that individual.

It's rare that anyone knows that I was in the military. So I don't get those appreciation comments, nor do I wish to. I served, but I did not make any sort of policy, and had no role in any of it. That's the case with almost everyone you see who is a veteran. Ask a veteran why he or she joined. They'll tell you. Most often, the story is one something like mine. Some may tell you that it was a big mistake. If that veteran is from the Vietnam era, the draft may be the reason. But none of those veterans had anything to do with making policy decisions.

[Robb]

2. Why is the concept of hating war and yet honoring warriors so fucking difficult?

Are we fearful of a "cult of flames" developing if we over-appreciate firefighters?