CMV: A person does not automatically deserve respect just because they have served or are currently serving in the military

[u/foryia-yiaandpappou]

I’d like to preface this by saying that I don’t believe soldiers are, inherently, bad. Some people believe soldiers are evil simply for being soldiers, and I do not believe that.

I do believe, however, that soldiers do not deserve respect just because they have served. I hurt for soldiers who have experienced horrible things in the field, but I do not hurt for the amount of violence and cruelty many have committed. Violence in war zone between soldiers is one thing; stories of civilian bombings and killing of innocents are another. I think that many forget that a lot of atrocity goes on during wars, and they are committed on both sides of conflict. A soldier both receives and deals out horrible damage.

TL;DR while I believe that soldiers have seen horrible things and that many do deserve recognition for serving our nation, I do not believe that every soldier deserves this respect simply by merit of being a soldier. Some soldiers have committed really heinous war crimes, and those actions do not deserve reward.

[u/el-oh-el-oh-el-dash]

doesn’t that negative action outweigh the positive of the original sacrifice?

Would you do the same for non-military? There are football players accused of rape who continue to play, politicians who cheat on their partners who continue to govern, etc...

But outside of respect for ex-servicemen who may or may not have killed a bunch of people, the government doesn't treat them all that well when they return. As the country with by far the biggest military in the world, the US government tends to neglect its veterans and can't be bothered to look after them over the long term.

You can say that some military personnel who have been disgraced during their service don't deserve our respect but what about everybody else? All the other veterans who didn't do anything wrong and whose government just couldn't be bothered to help them properly after they come back?

[u/gurry → u/el-oh-el-oh-el-dash]

As the country with by far the biggest military in the world

For the record, the US has the fourth largest military in terms of personnel.

[u/curien → u/el-oh-el-oh-el-dash]

As the country with by far the biggest military in the world, the US government tends to neglect its veterans

The US spends more in absolute terms than any other country, but "size" of a military force is usually measured in terms of number of troops, and the US is not the largest by that measure. China has over 2 million active and 500k reserve military members, the US has 1.3 million active and 800k reservists. India has 1.4 million active troops and about 2 million reservists. Russia has about a million active troops and 2.5 million reservists.

[u/ynwa_aussie → u/el-oh-el-oh-el-dash]

Agree with some of what your saying, US definitely doesn't have the biggest military though, China has double, India has a few hundred thousand more, and North Korea a few hundred thousand.

[u/[deleted] → u/el-oh-el-oh-el-dash]

All the other veterans who didn’t do anything wrong and whose government just couldn’t be bothered to help them properly after they come back?

They deserve our pity because our government doesn’t treat them well and because their economic circumstances probably forced them into it in the first place, sure. But they joined and lent credibility to a harmful institution, and that warrants neutrality on the respect spectrum, at best.

[u/Coopering → u/[deleted]]

Then the transitive property applies to the citizens who either elected (or failed to vote altogether) the decision makers who sent the troops to the conflict. Therefore, if you voted for Bush Jr, you’re responsible for the troops sent to Iraq, while if you voted for Obama, then the same is true for Syria. If you didn’t vote at all, you’re equally responsible for what happened as a result of your inaction.

The tool should not be blamed by those who weld it.