Quote:
Originally Posted by flamesfever
I believe anyone who puts their life at stake, to save others, should be held in the highest esteem by society.
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I wouldn't disagree with this, but I do disagree with the assumption that the American, or even Canadian, military is strictly in the business of defending the lives of others. But that's beside the point. This isn't about raising people that save lives onto a pedestal, or else paramedics would be revered as highly as the soldier in the United States. It's about the military and its soldiers being seen as the ideal, no one else.
When a nation glorifies war as much as the United States, when their entertainment industry -- which isn't a cause of their culture but merely a reflection of it -- churns out over and over violent video games and movies revolving around war, when their patriotism is defined by how aggressive they are toward other nations, when their nation was given birth in war, when it was united in war, when its rise to super-power status was due to war, and when its history throughout the 20th century was defined by -- you guessed it -- war, you'd have to be blind to believe there isn't a correlation between its military culture and its gun culture, a linked belief in the two being symbols of virility, aggression, and manhood.
Your response to what I said is exactly what I'm talking about. Merely questioning the position and importance of the military in our democratic society meets with a visceral, negative, response. I said nothing directly offensive. I didn't say soldiers are all cowards. Soldiers are all baby-killers, or some such. I merely said soldiers should not be seen as the ideal citizens of a democratic society, and you are immediately offended by it.