LOL military appreciation nights

[DMC]

the whole point here is to say that to have a military appreciation nights or giving a big round of applause to the 5 vet inside the buiding is dumb.

Military are professionals, they chose to serve and are paid to do so so why would these citizens being special ? Why not an appreciation night for the surgeons who are paid to save lives ? why not a big round of applauses for the nurses ? why not for the workers building cars so we have freedom to travel ? etc...

Why not testicular cancer, where people wear semen colored ribbons?

[Brazil]

Why not testicular cancer, where people wear semen colored ribbons?

ya this too

[Interrohater]

the whole point here is to say that to have a military appreciation nights or giving a big round of applause to the 5 vet inside the buiding is dumb.

Military are professionals, they chose to serve and are paid to do so so why would these citizens being special ? Why not an appreciation night for the surgeons who are paid to save lives ? why not a big round of applauses for the nurses ? why not for the workers building cars so we have freedom to travel ? etc...

Well if that's how you feel, then why honor anybody on Earth? Why not just throw our dead into a pit and plant carrots on top? the logic is circular and has no point. At the end of the day, you're probably simply upset that you're left out of the celebration. Here's an idea: let's horde our thanks and appreciation as if there's a finite supply! "Oh noes! You're not getting me thanks, little soldier boys! I haz much more important things in mind for these beautiful congratulatory moments! How precious they are, so small and shriveled!"

[Brazil]

Well if that's how you feel, then why honor anybody on Earth? Why not just throw our dead into a pit and plant carrots on top? the logic is circular and has no point. At the end of the day, you're probably simply upset that you're left out of the celebration. Here's an idea: let's horde our thanks and appreciation as if there's a finite supply! "Oh noes! You're not getting me thanks, little soldier boys! I haz much more important things in mind for these beautiful congratulatory moments! How precious they are, so small and shriveled!"

or better we stop doing special appreciation day or night for guys doing their job... what about that ?

I'm not upset of anything dude... I'm European and I live in Brazil and there is no big round of applause or appreciation nights for dudes doing their job knowing that, cherry on the cake, military support functions that never ever put their lives in line represent I don't know ? 80-90% of the total ? Yaaa let's give a big round of applause for our Irak war vets based in Saudi Arabia to organize food supply

[PingPong]

case = rested

WoW that's na impressive argument. I'll change my OS to the english because the anglo barbarians doubled the letter 't'. Okay.

[littlecoyotecoin]

or better we stop doing special appreciation day or night for guys doing their job... what about that ?

I'm not upset of anything dude... I'm European and I live in Brazil and there is no big round of applause or appreciation nights for dudes doing their job knowing that, cherry on the cake, military support functions that never ever put their lives in line represent I don't know ? 80-90% of the total ? Yaaa let's give a big round of applause for our Irak war vets based in Saudi Arabia to organize food supply

There is no country of Europe. You mean Putinistan, right? He would take it, if not for US. Of course, we're so weak right now, he's already rattling his sabre.

[littlecoyotecoin]

Why not testicular cancer, where people wear semen colored ribbons?

The semen of testicular cancer patients is pink, so we're all good with the ribbons.

[xmas1997]

To be fair, you've only given two options there. On one hand, a soldier is not intelligent if he follows orders given, and the other is they follow orders because they are being paid to do it. While there are a myriad of reasons why someone joins the service, I'll focus on one: duty.

A soldier's duty is to "stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat" as "a guardian of freedom and the American way of life". When I joined in 2004, it was because of duty, and I can confidently say that the majority of those with whom I fought were there for the same reason, whatever shade of grey it may have been. After 9-11, there was a strong sense of duty to protect what was ours. A lot of you might forget, or maybe were even too young to have properly grasped how the nation felt as a community. There was outrage, sympathy, empathy, denial, su ion, and every other emotion, but the call to duty was stronger. So we volunteered to fight what we thought at the time was the good fight. To protect what was ours; our way of life. Keep the fighting on their soil and off of ours. What does this have to do with intelligence? Nothing at all. What does it have to do with following orders? Nothing at all. This is my point. We joined for reasons other than those that you so easily type. Not a single person makes the decision to join lightly. This is a life-altering decision; one that will change the very fabric of your being. Throw your beliefs into upheaval. You put some clothes in a backpack and you head out to protect your homeland without a single person that you've known your entire life; without the comforts that you've always known. Without the very same freedoms that you've sworn to protect, as you sign your life away under the penalty of incarceration. Again, what does this have to do with following orders or intelligence?

Once we were there, the politics were meaningless. My opinion changed when I saw the chaos that we had started. When I saw the homes we had destroyed. Then my opinion changed again when I saw the Iraqi people hugging us and thanking us; inviting us in for dinner and laughter. Again, my opinion changed when I lost a friend. What was it all for? And again, another change of heart when we rescued some Iraqis who were being held hostage and were on the verge of execution; the tears that the mother shared saturating my balaclava. Yet again when I sent a young soldier to her death by trying to do the right thing. The life of a soldier isn't one so easily classified as "stupid" or just "being paid to do a job". There are a lot of ups and downs. Yes, we followed orders and the majority of those orders are given with safety in mind: the safety of US personnel and the safety of host-nation civilians. But following orders is not inherently an evil thing. It can guide you; prepare you for an inevitability. Make you ready for an attack, or keep your unit together so you can all get home. The term "following orders" is a heavy one, wrought with mental images of big brother, brainwashing, or a robotic execution of malicious plans. However, the truth is that the choice to follow orders is a personal one that has numerous implications for each person who decides to do so. Most of us don't have to make those life or death choices within a couple of seconds. are you so sure that you would fare any better? Just as we on this board question the management of our favorite teams from the comfort of our homes without the complications of direct involvement, so can we decide that we would have made the better choice; realistic or not.

[ElNono]

Trying to distinguish between who "cares" about America and who doesn't is a daunting task. Take that to a corporate level where the detail of the day/week/year is shareholder profit and suddenly patriotism is just a neat little pin on the lapel of the ops manager, because many in the corporation aren't even Americans. However even if it was a completely up and up patriotic endeavor, it would be smacked down as being patriotic bull without people in mind, elitism and such.

Well, you would expect Congress to actually care and draw the line on what's largely good for their cons uencies (America) or not. After all, that's exactly why they are there for. But it's a process that unfortunately has been largely co-opted by special interests. Companies are not going to draw the lines themselves, that much is clear.

If you haven't served in an armed forces unit anywhere in the world, you probably don't understand the viewpoint from a serviceman's perspective. You probably view it as a job where people didn't sign their lives away and are under a completely different set of laws than you or I (but have to also abide by ours) and they don't get fired or laid off, they cannot come in late for work, cannot call in. They are there or they are AWOL. Volunteered though, so yes they get what they paid for (heh) but then we get what we paid for as well, as we can sit in our 2 story brick homes and post ty opinions about things we probably know little to nothing about, and yet no one is kicking our doors in, dragging us into the street and publicly executing us for speaking out. Someone has to defend that, it's not an innate gift we cannot ever lose. Granted, there's ty things done in the name of freedom, but done also in every other name you can imagine. You wouldn't call every NBA player a piece of just because SBC center raised it's ticket prices and they are making millions.

I just don't really care how anybody feels about their job or the decisions they made, it's really out of my control. That goes for the army guy, the Wall Street stockbroker or the art major... which doesn't mean I don't have my own opinion about some of those decisions, but really, everybody largely makes their own bed, then lie on it, and then we deal with it or not. The "dragged on the street" argument is really relative (extraordinary rendition comes to mind). I would just say that, largely, we've understood that dissent and criticism are integral parts of a healthy society. The question is what to do with those societies that didn't get the memo. Bombing the living out of their cities and killing their families in the name of their own freedom sometimes sends the wrong signal, IMO.

Now, notice that none of the above really involve service members decision-making, that's why I don't pin any of that on them.

[Splits]

The question is what to do with those societies that didn't get the memo. Bombing the living out of their cities and killing their families in the name of their own freedom sometimes sends the wrong signal, IMO.

We've only blessed like 7 or 8 countries with our freedom bombs the past few years, what's the big deal?

[Brazil]

There is no country of Europe. You mean Putinistan, right? .

nice come back got

there is no country of Europe but there is the word European in all dictionaries...go figure

[lil'mo]

No one has explained to me why the military deserves more thanks than any other American who does his or her job that they get paid for?

[lil'mo]

Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This take is right-on.

I think Rob is just kidding.

And if you are in the military, I thank you.

I make it a point whenever I see a man or woman in uniform to go over and shake their hand and thank them, they deserve it, they are our front line of defense, they are not mercenaries!

And then I see some young punks sneer whenever I do this, but others, usually the mature older people in the crowd, nodding their heads in agreement, and I know I am doing the right thing to do.

Xmas when is the last time you went up to your trash collector, shook his hand, and thanked him for his service?

[The Reckoning]

The massive military budget is necessary because America's economy operates outside the bounds of sanity and legality. Our massive debt can be called in any moment and the only reason it isn't is because the world fears our military might.

the US has never defaulted...

[littlecoyotecoin]

nice come back got

there is no country of Europe but there is the word European in all dictionaries...go figure

I'm crushed, and you're on display as a piece of . No surprise you missed the whole point, dumbass. But, kudos. Yes. The word "European" is in the dictionary. You get a gold star.

[xmas1997]

Xmas when is the last time you went up to your trash collector, shook his hand, and thanked him for his service?

So you are saying my trash collector is putting his life on the line by collecting trash?

We should also have appreciation nights for our firemen and policemen IMHO.

[The Reckoning]

the military is necessary because americans suck at parenting.

[xmas1997]

the military is necessary because americans suck at parenting.

[lil'mo]

The military is glorified so they can keep enlisting people. Soldiers get paid well, get great benefits, get to travel. It's a great opportunity, but do we really have to suck their s also? When I see bags like Xmas running up to these military guys who intentionally wear their camp fatigues out in public () I just laugh and shake my head. Hey I'll be the fest to thank a real veteran, guys who were drafted during the real wars of wwii and Vietnam, but these days it's just a job.

[The Reckoning]

hindsight should just join the military, save up and use the GI bill to pay for your education. reap all the government tax payer benefits, save up, and invest everything else into a Roth IRA and mutual funds. plus dumbasses think you're some kind of special kid because you get to sit on base all day with free room and board watching TV rofl.

[milkyway21]

Xmas when is the last time you went up to your trash collector, shook his hand, and thanked him for his service?

DO garbage collectors risk their lives for you?

[xmas1997]

The military is glorified so they can keep enlisting people. Soldiers get paid well, get great benefits, get to travel. It's a great opportunity, but do we really have to suck their s also? When I see bags like Xmas running up to these military guys who intentionally wear their camp fatigues out in public () I just laugh and shake my head. Hey I'll be the fest to thank a real veteran, guys who were drafted during the real wars of wwii and Vietnam, but these days it's just a job.

Vietnam was a Police Action, not a war, dictated by our politicians. It was completely political and for our oil corporations.

If we had fought it to win rather than merely contain, it might have had a different outcome, it is called a war now as was the Korean conflict, but it is in name only.

[lil'mo]

So you are saying my trash collector is putting his life on the line by collecting trash?

We should also have appreciation nights for our firemen and policemen IMHO.

There are inherent risks to life and safety in every job.

[Johnny RIngo]

So you are saying my trash collector is putting his life on the line by collecting trash?

No, but your trash collector is providing you a much more valuable service than the military.

[DPG21920]

No one has explained to me why the military deserves more thanks than any other American who does his or her job that they get paid for?

It's really not that hard to understand when you accept reality. It's no different than a doctor who makes good money but saves your kids life. You appreciate that more than the Taco Bell guy who fills your taco because although both are paying jobs, there's a level of committment and sacrafice that makes it more than the norm.

It's no different than honoring someone who did something heroic or overcame something really difficult. By your logic, it would be stupid to honor a cancer survivor because they didn't even have to work to get cancer. It was just something they got for free.

The point is a lot of this is historical too. There was a time (and it's not really a good thing) where some of the work/wars soldiers had to fight were of unbeliveable significance to defending the freedom of the country and the world. Those wars, where it was more straightforward with regards to what people were fighthing for are long gone at this point, but the stigma still exists. I'm somewhere in the middle on the matter, but less because of the soldiers and more because I am not quite sure the real reasons why our government uses the military as it does. But there are still lots of good people doing good things.

Just because someone gets paid for doing something, doesn't mean they don't deserve credit. I'm not saying everyone in the military should be put on a pedestal, but the "they got paid" argument is kind of silly. We need certain jobs which is why they have to pay for them, but it's not like some jobs aren't more important than others.