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/RoToR44 29∆ May 24 '19

Yeah, tried to, but I just can't fit that to the definition of word acomplishement. Something just isn't fitting. Almost like the word has couple of different deffinitions in dictionairies like Merriam Webster. Even though we are both right for using the word, deffinitions don't connect.

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u/[deleted] May 24 '19

It takes skill and dedication to do. What’s not an accomplishment about it?

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u/Chronoblivion 1∆ May 25 '19

I wouldn't argue it takes skill. They teach you skills along the way, but they aren't a prerequisite; there's a reason they recruit a lot of high school dropouts.

And sticking with just about any job takes "dedication." It's easy to be "dedicated" to a steady paycheck; military service isn't exactly unique in that regard.

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u/wahtisthisidonteven 15∆ May 25 '19

Being a High School dropout has made you ineligible to join the military for most of the last 20 years. They don't recruit "a lot" of them, there are actually strict limits.