Veteran’s Day. I’ve been out on Facebook already this morning and seen this phrase, or variations of it, quite a few times. So I’ve got something to say about that and being that this is my blog, darn it, I’m going to say it.
Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day are when this sentiment gets thrown around the most, but we see many other examples throughout the year of this. I think it was one or two Sundays ago that I noticed the NFL football games had some kind of ‘Thank you for your service’ theme. For the most part I just let it slide but today I’m going to rant about it.
What bugs me is that the implication of this phrase is that it is referring to the military performing some kind of ‘service’ that is worthy of this kind of adulation. We’ve been set up to think that this is a superior kind of service to our country. Yes, men and women in the military have sacrificed their lives and limbs in war. But we have to recognize that there are other forms of service that are just as valid. Is Jeremy performing less of a service to our country by being a firefighter and never having been in the military? Is Ashley or Jane performing less of a service to our country by teaching our children and never having been in the military? Is Teresa performing less of a service to our country by being a nurse and never having been in the military? No.
And there are many people who do time in the military who are never near the front lines and whose lives are never in any more danger than any other American. My uncle Pat was in the Army during World War II and he drove a supply truck behind the lines. My brother Tim served in the Army during the first Gulf War. He went to Iraq and was a guard at a prison compound. As far as I know, he never fired a shot in anger nor was he ever shot at by enemy troops. Tim, if I got this wrong, please tell me.
The point is that while the military is an organization designed to kill people for the state, the part that actually does the killing is relatively small. And nowadays we have soldiers sitting in air conditioned room playing video games (running drones) for their service – killing people for the state.
So I think we should talk about what service we really want to value in our country. I remember reading about the ancient Greek city states in school. Athens, where democracy reigned supreme, and warlike Sparta, where everyone was a soldier. My takeaway from that was that ultimately Sparta failed because democracy was good and war was bad. Now here in America we have a kind of democracy but we are also very war like. It pains me that we don’t value forms of service to our country that don’t involve killing people or blowing things up.
Jeremy, Ashley, Jane, Teresa, thank you for your service!
I never considered thinking of other service people on this day, and I respect and appreciate this new perspective. I do respectfully disagree, to some extent. There are veterans, true veterans who gave their time and service for the sake of our freedom, or our Allies’ freedom. Both of my grandfathers served, and one grandmother was a nurse, and one served in several wars as a pilot. I also have several friends enter some sort of military platform. I’ve witnessed first hand the sacrifices some of these people have made. To have a cause felt so strongly about that you would risk your life defending can be exponentially noble. (Not all causes, but some for sure.) And while I believe any act of violence should be an absolute last resort, I ultimately am thankful we have people willing to do this if necessary.
I agree with your last comments- Our nation should honor every kind of service, and ultimately, every job serves others. Garbage collectors, doctors, electricians, stay at home parents, etc. We should be kinder and say thank you every day, not just to military personnel on days like today.
I commend your voice in speaking out for the many who get your view, including myself. Thank you, Chris, for the reminders way that we may be and should be hailed for service to our country. Our respondes, care givers and educators.
, and the many others who contribute to ore well being, on a daily basis.
Thanks for your perspective. It’s refreshing and true for me too. It makes me think of how actors and athletes are put on a pedestal, honored for being unusually talented, I guess. Kids then look up to these folks, but are often let down when they do something human. It’s better to promote kids looking up to real heroes like you mention. Military soldiers could be counted in this group depending on how you look at it. Thanks for the recognition as a teacher server. Some days I feel I’m sacrificing and beating my head against a wall, and others I’m filled with hope and love for these little growing people I work for. I’m hopeful that in the long run, my efforts to educate are making a difference.
You are making a difference! I was mainly trying to point out that many members of our society do great things for the benefit of all but no one gets lionized like soldiers. Maybe it’s leftover guilt of how we treated them during Vietnam. Then it was because anyone associated with the killing machine was judged a killer. It just bothers me that we promote killing still.