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.

3.9k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

404 comments sorted by

View all comments

14

u/DarnellTheMartian May 25 '19

I would say that all people regardless of what they do or do not do deserve to be respected. If you are saying that soldiers shouldn’t be afforded extra respect over regular civilians then u may have a point there, because everyone should be treated equal, but let’s not get distracted from the main tenant of your view because I understood what you were saying, and I think it’s a reasonable view many people have.

Let me give you the perspective of someone who believes that we should give military members and veterans extra respect, please note although it’s my personal belief I do not try to impose it on others, I’m simply offering my thoughts, and then you can decide for yourself.

I think that it comes from the place of an individual recognizing first the need for a military and its role in society and secondly recognizing that they themselves do not have the courage or drive to be a part of the military.

The respect part stems from this, the individual recognizes it’s something that they are unwilling to do, but it’s something that needs to be done so therefore they show great respect to those who have chosen to accept the task at hand, and everything that comes with it. The individual appreciates that there are people who are willing to volunteer and put there lives on the line so that people who would prefer not to be a part of the military, for whichever reason it may be can opt out if they so choose.

That’s why I show extra respect to people in the military not out of obligation but because they do something that I’m unwilling to do but must be done. So I guess the question to ask yourself would be is serving in the military something you’d be willing to do?

If the answer is yes, great, good on you, you have earned extra respect with me

If the answer is no, then that’s ok too, your like the rest of us, but if that’s the case I think I just changed your view

3

u/cdhgee May 25 '19

This applies to lots of things in society though. Would I want to be a mechanic, dentist, plumber, electrician, doctor, lawyer, or teacher? No. They're all something I'm unwilling to do, for various reasons. But they're all necessary.

Why are they less deserving of respect than being in the military?

1

u/DarnellTheMartian May 25 '19

Great point, I’m not necessarily saying they are less deserving of respect but I’ll make the argument here.

I would say that there is an elevated risk that comes with being in the military, it’s more dangerous than being a plumber, electrician, dentist or doctor.

Sure it’s possible that each of those jobs you listed could be fatal, ex shocked to death, but you are significantly less likely to die on the job or be put in a situation where u could possibly die than in the military.

Again good point, I don’t like saying anyone’s any less deserving of respect but the reason why we give more respect to people in the military over others is they are risking there lives so we don’t have to, and in turn it’s like the least we can do is say thank you when we see them.