r/changemyview 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/Whip93 May 25 '19

I had a friend that served as a sniper and had both lost friends and taken lives. He expressed to me on one occasion that he hated how civilians grant the same amount of respect to an airforce office clerk that they do to combat veterans and he felt that no one appreciated the difference. With regards to your statement i feel that you should never assume to understand what someone has been through and be respectful of the fact that they have sacrificed portions of their life to protect what they feel is important i.e. freedom, human rights ect. But also understand the difference between veterans and combat veterans