It seems that everyone supports the military. No matter if you are a hawk or a dove, you have to support the troops. Everyone on TV goes out of their way to show how much they support the troops. The small government conservatives still love a big government military. We bash government institutions as incompetent, but not the military. They are great. If you dare to speak out against the military, you are going to be attacked. But, isn't that a bit fascist?
We create slogans like "they are fighting for our freedom", but in reality our freedom hasn't been at risk since the 1940's. In all seriousness, the Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II are the only wars were our freedom has been threatened. The War of 1812 saw a threat to the country, but that was our own doing. We could have stayed out of that war. Far more often than fighting for our freedom, the military has been fighting to support the political ambitions of our elected officials.
Is it right to promote and praise individuals who have served in an organization whose purpose is to kill other human beings? We don't have to vilify these people, but there isn't really a need to praise them as if they have saved your kitten from a tree. Just treat them like you would the garbage man, the box boy at the grocery store, or a plumber. That is because in the last 50 years, a soldier hasn't been any more important than people from those lines of work.
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