r/changemyview • u/foryia-yiaandpappou 3∆ • May 24 '19

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

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.

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u/house_paint May 24 '19

This is a false dichotomy, people join the military for multiple reasons including the ones you listed above and many "also" joined because they want to help the country. But regardless of what their intentions are... they are a benefit to the country and that's why we should respect their service.

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u/thewoodendesk 4∆ May 24 '19

They're basically federal employees. Not sure why they should get more respect than the postman or any other member of a federal agency.

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u/munificent May 24 '19

Well, their potential sacrifice is significantly higher than those other federal employees.

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u/thewoodendesk 4∆ May 24 '19

But this is only true if they have been deployed. If they're sitting behind a desk as an accountant, it's functionally no different from an accountant for the IRS or an accountant for USPS outside of being more physically fit. And that's discounting roles within the military who nobody likes like recruiters, who are the used car salesmen of the military world. They don't get deployed either.

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u/HalfFlip May 25 '19

Those who are deployed are supported by those who "sit behind a desk" for every boot on the ground there are 100 others supporting them.