Does Military Service make you less agreeable??

[hard_r]

I will offer that I have never served in the military.

I agree that it does not give them the right to act like douchebags or infringe upon others' rights.

That said, their service DOES make them better than the rest of us. It makes them special people and I'm glad they do what they do.

Most of us have the rights we have by birthright; those who serve this country EARN those rights rather than just accepting them as a gift.

I consider that to be very special.

Does it allow them special privileges in society? No. That's why they're special because they serve anyway.

Is it distasteful when such an individual flaunts his/her status? Yes. But they're still special.

YMMV.

Michael Brown

I chose to get an education, so that makes me a lesser person than them? No. If everyone served,there would be nobody left on the outside to make the world run. I agree that they have something I don't. And what they do IS special. But I don't believe that automatically makes them better than me. There are those who are better than a lot of people. There are civilians better than a lot of people too. Just signing that paper and doing your time does not make you better. If you are still an ******* when you get out, like these guys, you are not better.

 

[Lone Wolf '49]

I traveled the world during my time at the worst time to be in the military. I didn't have a choice, I was drafted. The civilians hated us, travel in uniform was required, but the haters were verbal if not physical at times. Being a veteran of the Vietnam war was so detrimental to getting a job after getting out, the government enacted legislation that put Vietnam, and Vietnam era veterans in the same category as minorities. I've had to sign papers at every job I've been in to say if I wanted to participate in the affirmative action program. The answer was NO!
So, yes I'm intolerant of the idiots that have not been there and done that.
I've never heard of anybody having Post traumatic syndrome from a bar fight at college corner.
I applaud the attitude the civi's have toward the military service of today's veterans. Kudu's to you.

Dennis, I have a little understanding of what you speak of and I did NOT serve overseas, but saw many back through Oakland Army Ocean Terminal in 70 or so. Now, again, I wasn't in the heat like you were. However, with the situation, political as it was, I was also, in Chicago shortly later on, on an assignment and we had to wear strictly plain clothes all the time, but that was the or part of the assignment. Sad situation then, Dennis, and sorry you had to come back to the well, crap you did not deserve.

 

[Lone Wolf '49]

I will offer that I have never served in the military.

I agree that it does not give them the right to act like douchebags or infringe upon others' rights.

That said, their service DOES make them better than the rest of us. It makes them special people and I'm glad they do what they do.

Most of us have the rights we have by birthright; those who serve this country EARN those rights rather than just accepting them as a gift.

I consider that to be very special.

Does it allow them special privileges in society? No. That's why they're special because they serve anyway.

Is it distasteful when such an individual flaunts his/her status? Yes. But they're still special.

YMMV.

Michael Brown

Mike, I am an old retired guy, but have a little part time job which has allowed me to work with returning vets on their way to a good job. I cannot say how great these kids are, they want or wanted to serve. I love these kids so much and the thing this day despite politics, is these kids want to serve this country, and thanks for reading my RANT.

 

[tharper]

I've always been temperamental and crabby, but I think I give 'regular' folks a bad chance sometimes. I just can't get over how clueless and useless some people are. I love what I do and I don't like getting special treatment for it. I signed up to do it voluntarily, and that is that.

 

[inactive]

It doesn't make you anything. More agreeable, less agreeable. Simply being in the service, or not being in, doesn't do much of anything to anyone. Just like college. Just like the world of work. Just like growing up in an urban or rural locale.

What we draw from those experiences can influence quite a bit. But to say people are changed by some sort of osmosis is to use too broad of a brush, in my opinion.

 

[mons meg]

I will say that sometimes, folks forget that there's a loooong line of others who went before them, and everyone has their own stories. e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq were not cake walks, but it doesn't mean some freaky s*** didn't go down during Desert Storm. It doesn't do any good to get into a pissing contest over who had it worse, because someone can always one up you.

That being said, during WW2 not every able bodied man went to war. Some, like my grandfather, HAD to stay and you know...FARM. Would have been an awful short campaign in Normandy without rations.

 

[Hump66]

Less agreeable? No. Less tolerant of stupidity? Definitely.

 

[MLRyan]

At the bar, I call Airmen and Privates out all the time whenever I hear them talking themselves up too much. Conversation usually goes down like such, "Hey, you must be in the Air Force." "Yeah, did you hear me talking?" "Yeah, you must be an Airman." "Wow, how did you know?" "Because most of us that have been in the Service for more than 5 minutes don't feel the need to brag." I usually give them a free beer after this interaction, depending on their attitude.

 

[Michael Brown]

I chose to get an education, so that makes me a lesser person than them? No. If everyone served,there would be nobody left on the outside to make the world run. I agree that they have something I don't. And what they do IS special. But I don't believe that automatically makes them better than me. There are those who are better than a lot of people. There are civilians better than a lot of people too. Just signing that paper and doing your time does not make you better. If you are still an ******* when you get out, like these guys, you are not better.

I am not talking about being a pleasant or affable person. That has little to do with military service.

"Better" in this context connotes a sacrifice that others were not willing to make. It is not a sacrifice to go to college. I made that choice too and live with the benefits and consequences.

I chose not to serve this country, benefitted myself by going to college and got what was good for ME.

Those who choose to serve this country don't really benefit from their service in a way that would motivate the average person to serve; That's why it's called SERVING. You're doing something that benefits others that you probably don't even know at a personal cost.

I am not suggesting that someone who chooses not to serve is a bad person; nor am I saying that military service instantly engenders sainthood.

What I am saying is that those who choose to serve are better than those that don't, myself included.

You should feel free to disagree but remember that you have the right to disagree BECAUSE of those who did choose to serve.

Michael Brown

 

[Glocktogo]

I chose to get an education, so that makes me a lesser person than them? No. If everyone served,there would be nobody left on the outside to make the world run. I agree that they have something I don't. And what they do IS special. But I don't believe that automatically makes them better than me. There are those who are better than a lot of people. There are civilians better than a lot of people too. Just signing that paper and doing your time does not make you better. If you are still an ******* when you get out, like these guys, you are not better.

I always thought you had to be a little "special" to volunteer in the service, especially the Marines!

In all seriousness though, People who don't recognize that it is after all "service" annoy the hell out of me. It's not like taking a civilian job and deciding a few months later that you want to try something else. You can do it, but there will be significant consequences that follow you the rest of your life. On the other hand, people like the servicemen you described annoy the hell out of me also. I don't wear my service on my sleeve. Many people who know me, don't necessarily know that I served. I'm proud of it, but it wasn't the last good thing I've done. Guys who fly the colors 24/7 on nearly everything they own after one enlistment, always make me wonder what they really did in the service.

I recognize that many other people "serve" in a wide variety of ways. That service doesn't necessarily have to include personal danger either. If you strive to do more than benefit yourself, you are in fact better than those who selfishly look after only themselves and theirs. Sure, they're exercising their free rights in doing so, but they accept no responsibility with those rights. As a matter of fact, I find the people yelling the loudest about civil rights are people I'd want nothing to do with. JMO, YMMV