One of the main reasons to single out active-duty military is not just what they must risk, but what they must do. I don't assume that soldiers like to kill people or be part of an enterprise that kills and destroys. In fact I know that it is a terribly disheartening thing to do. As a person who disagrees with their mission and wants to throw out their command, I want them to understand that I appreciate the difficulty of maintaining good order and discipline, motivation, and even sanity in such a violent, destructive enterprise - especially when people are questioning the entire structure and purpose of what you're doing. No firefighter has to question whether he is doing the right thing and every soldier does.
Are there guys in Iraq who are both doing the wrong thing and doing it for the wrong reasons? Sure, but I don't assume this of soldiers and, as I say, it has not been my experience. So, I do think they deserve to be singled out for thanks. And I think it's very important for the Left to show we understand that this is OUR military and WE are just as responsible for them as the Right.
I don't know of a socialist government that has not respected soldiers, so why should we on the Left?
boddi
On 11/24/05, Gar Lipow <the.typo.boy at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/24/05, boddi satva <lbo.boddi at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Yes, many Nazi soldiers were draftees and we prosecuted realtively few
> > people of lower rank (compared to their overall numbers). There were
> > even Nazi draftees and officers who rejected their orders at times as
> > illegal. I don't think the fact that there were Nazi draftees does
> > anything but strengthen my point. Voluntary participation in war for
> > one's society has been expected from citizens at least since the days
> > of Greece and Rome.
> >
>
> Your original argument was one of expressing "gratitude" to members of
> the military on every conceivable occassion. Do you take the same
> opportunity with firefighters who face much greater risks than the
> military (compare occupation death rates) and who protect from far
> greater dangers? Also firefighters, (unlike our military) are not
> primarily instruments of agression; our military protects us only as a
> side affect of agression if it protects us at all. I have great
> sympathy for our young people in the military; I have none for their
> mission, though I understand my view of what that mission is , is
> drastically different from theirs.
>
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