Enough with America's 'thank you for your service' culture...

[MetropolitanCowboy]

Good read I thought. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/02/05/veterans-military-god-bless-troops-war-cost-column/4389727001/?fbclid=IwAR32h0VLM5QR_Y1hoyjQAh3SVwCPM_YS-qBOsVDO_dsOFrGPDUdFfvIMnjA

 But just what is the best way for Americans to honor and respect veterans’ sacrifices?

Responses to this question tend to be as diverse as America itself. There's no single right answer, but there are plenty of wrong ones. One thing has become abundantly clear: America’s “thank you for your service” culture doesn't help veterans — or society.  

[UNLV2001]

35 minutes ago, MetropolitanCowboy said:

Good read I thought. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/02/05/veterans-military-god-bless-troops-war-cost-column/4389727001/?fbclid=IwAR32h0VLM5QR_Y1hoyjQAh3SVwCPM_YS-qBOsVDO_dsOFrGPDUdFfvIMnjA

 

 

Was just talking about the "Thank you for your service" comment that gets over used when finding out someone served in the military 

Yes, it's great they served & did their tour, but let's not think that some go this route because they have little other options out of high school or early in life.......I'm fine they they get socialist benefits (VA, Reduced cost goods, GI Bill to pay for college), that's all part of the contract...........but then to see some of them come out & bitch about "socialism" it becomes tedious .........and major *thumbs up* to those that served in harm's way or in regions where conflict could occur close by................but also, there's lots who do a few years & never come close to even going close to any conflicts.

My (now recently deceased father in law) did a two or three year Navy stint in the late 1950's & never left the base as he was a dental tech, yet he got a lifetime of VA & other benefits and in his recent years feared other people getting the socialist benefits that he had most of his life................the mental disconnect bugs me sometimes...................also like the guy who's all for "fiscal conservatism & stopping spending", all while he's employed by a government contractor that without some wasted spending would gong him out of a job 

[toonkee]

NSFW - Language

 

[NVGiant]

17 minutes ago, toonkee said:

NSFW - Language

 

That show is so close to perfect.

[East Coast Aztec]

[East Coast Aztec]

[Akkula]

Yeah, we have an NFL halftime show version of patriotism.  Flags, Fireworks, and Marching Bands

We hate the government but LOVE the military.  We think government employees are a waste of money but thing it is a great idea to have tons of government military employees sitting around bases wasting money doing nothing productive.

We need to step off the never ending war concepts and stop shoving so much money to defense contractors.  Republicans support the biggest, least accountable, and most expensive and inefficient of all government agencies.

In reality, if our mission was to exclusively to protect our 50 states and territories we could spend a fraction of what we spend on the military.  I think we should be more out in the world but this hero worship we do of cops and people in the military is kinda crazy unless you have been in combat duty.  In reality, it is just another job that people get and there are plenty of civilian jobs that could be more dangerous.  We need to STOP putting people into combat and then just waving flags and shooting fireworks when they have LONG TERM medical and care needs.  High school kids need to be able to get other jobs than just to be cannon fodder government employees.

The military should be tolerated...not celebrates.  We should stop all the faux conspicuous patriotism and support combat veterans better financially and medically.  Put your money where your mouth is and stop all the ostentatious faux patriot Rambo flag waving bullshit.   Take a GIANT bite out of the military industrial complex and these inefficient and ineffective weapons systems.

[DestinFlPackfan]

5 minutes ago, Akkula said:

Yeah, we have an NFL halftime show version of patriotism.  Flags, Fireworks, and Marching Bands

We hate the government but LOVE the military.  We think government employees are a waste of money but thing it is a great idea to have tons of government military employees sitting around bases wasting money doing nothing productive.

We need to step off the never ending war concepts and stop shoving so much money to defense contractors.  Republicans support the biggest, least accountable, and most expensive and inefficient of all government agencies.

In reality, if our mission was to exclusively to protect our 50 states and territories we could spend a fraction of what we spend on the military.  I think we should be more out in the world but this hero worship we do of cops and people in the military is kinda crazy unless you have been in combat duty.  In reality, it is just another job that people get and there are plenty of civilian jobs that could be more dangerous.  We need to STOP putting people into combat and then just waving flags and shooting fireworks when they have LONG TERM medical and care needs.  High school kids need to be able to get other jobs than just to be cannon fodder government employees.

The military should be tolerated...not celebrates.  We should stop all the faux conspicuous patriotism and support combat veterans better financially and medically.  Put your money where your mouth is and stop all the ostentatious faux patriot Rambo flag waving bullshit.   Take a GIANT bite out of the military industrial complex and these inefficient and ineffective weapons systems.

I would like to change your last sentence to : " Take a GIANT bite out of the military industrial complex and USE that money to better support combat veterans financially and medically. "

[SharkTanked]

The cognitive disconnect between people who receive a benefit, and then want to make sure no one else gets said benefit is frustrating to no end. The socialized medicine and education that accompanies military service is a good example. Another good one is politicians and public pensions. Being a local gov bureaucrat, that one irks me to no end. The US Congress has perhaps the greatest public pension in the history of man (and the ones in the Statehouses ain't too shabby either), and many of them want to make sure that no other gov employee ever gets any public pension benefit ever. Lot's of "let them eat cake" out there. +++++ those guys.

But I think all of that is unrelated to the "thanking for service." What gets me PO'ed is all these former service "oath keepers" who think they are now arbiters of what the US Constitution means because they took an oath to defend it. I would bet most of them couldn't even name all the amendments (or any after the first two?). I get really frustrated by the attitude, BY SOME, who think just because they served, they are better than Joe or Jane College. People who use their service as cape to mask all their other obvious incompetencies.

All THAT said, I would still thank them for their service, even if they are stupid assholes. I really don't care if they were a warehouse clerk in Ft. Bumphuck who needed a diagram to get dressed in the morning. The point is, they DID chose to serve, they DID take an oath and may have been called upon to fight for our country because of that. I guess sometimes a "thank you for your service" is a sincere admiration of accomplishments and sacrifice, and sometimes it is just "thanks for doing your part," whatever that may have been, and in all cases, thanks for being willing to answer the call if needed.

I mean every army still needs cannon fodder too. 

And directly related to the topic of the article, what really is needed is mental health support for all who have seen duty in an area of conflict. Not just the guys with guns, but the convoy drivers, the cooks, the docs, the chaplains, the anyone and everyone there. So much of what is wrong with America comes down to lack of mental health treatment and resources. I can't understand why this country refuses to address that elephant in the room. Fixing that fixes almost everything else that is wrong.

[Maynard Delecto]

1. The "thank you for your service" thing was a transition from vietnam draft dodger era to the persian gulf conflict. Ppl aren't being sincere when they say it.
2. I don't deserve thanks for serving Under Satan's Authority, quite the opposite, IMO
3. You socialists can have all my VA stuff. I have had enough of govt. and  their "benefits" for one lifetime. 

[SharkTanked]

2 minutes ago, Maynard Delecto said:

1. The "thank you for your service" thing was a transition from vietnam draft dodger era to the persian gulf conflict. Ppl aren't being sincere when they say it.
2. I don't deserve thanks for serving Under Satan's Authority, quite the opposite, IMO
3. You socialists can have all my VA stuff. I have had enough of govt. and  their "benefits" for one lifetime. 

And this is why we need to address mental health issues with our veterans.

[Maynard Delecto]

6 minutes ago, SharkTanked said:

And this is why we need to address mental health issues with our veterans.

Thank you for your service

[Akkula]

The military training is really pretty poorly suited for getting a job after your service too.  We have hollowed out our blue collar work force and many of the jobs available are office type jobs.

Back in the day being in the military perfectly executing repetitive mundane shit around the base was a good way to move from being a child to a responsible adult.  They taught you how to get up, get dressed, go to work, and just follow orders and not to think too much.  There aren't a lot of civilian jobs in America these days where you can make six figures stamping out widgets any longer.  The one place where non college educated white men can get jobs though after the military is in law enforcement.  

We really have to think about how we are going to make a capitalist economy work when we really don't require the labor contribution of vast numbers of people any longer to keep things moving along. 

[BYUcougfan]

I wonder how many posters on this thread actually read the article.  He does not have a problem with someone thanking a soldier.  The article is making political points about how the military is used.

[happycamper]

13 hours ago, Akkula said:

The military training is really pretty poorly suited for getting a job after your service too.  We have hollowed out our blue collar work force and many of the jobs available are office type jobs.

Back in the day being in the military perfectly executing repetitive mundane shit around the base was a good way to move from being a child to a responsible adult.  They taught you how to get up, get dressed, go to work, and just follow orders and not to think too much.  There aren't a lot of civilian jobs in America these days where you can make six figures stamping out widgets any longer.  The one place where non college educated white men can get jobs though after the military is in law enforcement.  

We really have to think about how we are going to make a capitalist economy work when we really don't require the labor contribution of vast numbers of people any longer to keep things moving along. 

lots of vets in the oil patch, akkula

[East Coast Aztec]

26 minutes ago, BYUcougfan said:

I wonder how many posters on this thread actually read the article.  He does not have a problem with someone thanking a soldier.  The article is making political points about how the military is used.

We have went on, ad nauseum, about this.  Neither party cares, the corporations love the use of the military for their own gains, and the public continues to be told about this stuff and they don't do anything because they don't want to look like "Un-Americans", or because they like the cheap goods that are derived from the use of the military.  As someone involved in that machine for a bit, I would rather post a meme, because this opinon piece is as virtue signal "feel-gooding" as the thank you for your service tripe itself.  Everyone has heard of the homeless rates, the poor healthcare, the suicide rates, the alcohol and drug abuse and divorce rates from the demographic that was chewed up and spit out for the gains of the rich, under the guise of patriotism.  No one truly gives a shit.

 

[happycamper]

14 minutes ago, East Coast Aztec said:

We have went on, ad nauseum, about this.  Neither party cares, the corporations love the use of the military for their own gains, and the public continues to be told about this stuff and they don't do anything because they don't want to look like "Un-Americans", or because they like the cheap goods that are derived from the use of the military.  As someone involved in that machine for a bit, I would rather post a meme, because this opinon piece is as virtue signal "feel-gooding" as the thank you for your service tripe itself.  Everyone has heard of the homeless rates, the poor healthcare, the suicide rates, the alcohol and drug abuse and divorce rates from the demographic that was chewed up and spit out for the gains of the rich, under the guise of patriotism.  No one truly gives a shit.

 

dang ECA you sound like Smedley Butler

[East Coast Aztec]

10 minutes ago, happycamper said:

dang ECA you sound like Smedley Butler

I do have his book.  Along with Ike, it is good to have folks with that level of experience qualifying what is already so obvious.

[Akkula]

1 hour ago, happycamper said:

lots of vets in the oil patch, akkula

We should thank those oil field patch workers for their service too.  That is probably more dangerous than many military jobs.

[Lester_in_reno]

have thought mandatory 18 months of national  service at age 19 - 22 ( your option),  might be a good idea.

Wouldn't have to be military service.

 

Many ways to look at that,   I know,

Just to share the burden, might wake people up.

Theres a lot of stupid and unaware people out there.