Doctor CamNC4Me wrote:I think the kind of scrutiny or opinion that HS teacher has toward the military is actually a good thing and indicative of a healthy republic. A lot of us lifers were, and are, extremely uncomfortable with the default setting the American public has with its servicemembers these days because KG is right, you don't join the military to be a hero, and if you did you're either going to be very disappointed or you'll be put out because you're a nutjob.
The fact of the matter is I, and the vast majority of servicemembers, joined because we were willing to trade our time for their incentives and benefits. I intended to do one enlistment, but they kept throwing money at me and then they promised to keep throwing money at me even when I wouldn't be there. I definitely got far more out of the military than I contributed. That's a fact.
I can only speak of the active duty person with whom I served from '95 tp '15, in Military Intelligence, but it's been shocking to me since I retired at just how wide the gulf between your average Joe and your average GI Joe is. I can also say at having had a lot of exposure to other branches and their personnel that the same gulf exists between them and your average American.
Anyway. I'm glad teachers like him exist. They provide a good counterbalance to authoritarianism, though I get the feeling he himself is an egomaniac.
- Doc
I usually don't take the time to hammer out more than a snarky sentence or two, but this has been gnawing at the back of my mind, so I need to type it out and get rid of it. I'll try to make it short.
Some enlist briefly in the military, not to be heroes, but to make a difference and give something to their country. This was true during Vietnam. This was also true after nine-eleven. Maybe it's more that way in the combat arms, I don't know. I can only speak from my own experience.
Two weeks out of high school, I naïvely entered the Army determined to do my part to stop Communism. After time in-country, that changed to doing my part to help my brothers.
Though I don't usually wear my service on my sleeve (nor on my ball cap), for me and some others, the cost was not insignificant. While it's true that some ex-service members want praise, most whom I know don't. We don't want to hear "thank you for your service"--we want investments in responsible government.
I've never talked to anyone who served who wouldn't do it again. There's something to be said for being a part of the institutions that make up a democracy.