Do you appreciate what United States Soldiers have done over the many years and wars?

Lest we forget…

now that’s bull

Soldiers are just pawns in the chess games of leaders. They care and cared not about giving you freedom or rights, they care about getting paid. Soldiers are tools, and all of the above, all the freedoms and rights, like it or not, have been granted to you by politcians, because they decided to give them to you.

I truly revile this misplaced worship of the military.

It’s Remembrance Day here in Canada, hence, the red poppy.

A big thank you for all our men and women who have served or are serving in our military.

I will remember and thank my Veterans. However, this is entirely off base.

A member of the Armed Forces understands full well that they give not these things – “rights” and “freedoms.” They understand that they do their service, fight and die to protect these things, not create them. They do not “give” them; they lay their lives on the line so that men and women can do it on their behalf. By presenting this (thoughtful – do not misunderstand) question, you are, in reality, doing a great disservice to the men and women of the Armed Forces.

The job of a Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airman, etc. is to fight on behalf of civilization, to selflessly serve on the promise that future generations may progress, that perhaps the lawyers, the preachers, the doctors, the mothers, the poets, the politicians might shape a better future. They give the opportunity, and that is their honor.

Happy Veteran’s/Remembrance Day.

It just ticked over from Remembrance day in Australia, and we do the red poppies too. We observe a minutes silence at the 11th hour (of the 11th day of the 11th month) in order to remember those who have died serving their countries in all wars. We are not worshiping the military nor condoning the governments who sent them, but remembering their sacrifice to defend their nation.

I was going to write something else but it would pale under @Grisaille‘s answer. He’s got the right idea there.

@ragingloli It’s refreshing to see ignorance/disrespect isn’t lost

there is nothing wrong with honoring the dead

I thank the soldiers who knowingly choose to put themselves in harm’s way and are willing to sacrifice their own lives so that I may live mine in comfort and security.

Yes, 99.9% of all cases. Abu Ghraib was an exception, like other war crimes. Whether a war is justified or not is a political issue, e.g. Iraq or Vietnam, not a military one.

Most educated Germans today are very grateful for what American soldiers did during WWII ending the Hitler nightmare. There are some minor discussions about excessive bombings of German towns which clearly had no military targets.

About 1 year ago I took a German interstate (autobahn) and there was some construction work going on. An hour after I passed this particular spot an American bomb from WWII exploded. The digger driver was killed instantly and about 15 cars were damaged with a few drivers going into shock. The next factory in 1945 from that particular point was 10 miles away, so the American pilot kind of missed. Every year dozens of dud bombs are detected and in most cases an expert for explosives can defuse the bomb.

I definitely appreciate the soldiers, they are the ones who have directly protected our country. They don’ get to decide where they fight or why they fight, they just do their job and put their lives on the line for us. They are the true heroes.

I wish there was a less cliche way to thank soldiers.

@tyrantxseries
Oh excuse me for being realistic. It is one thing to thank them for their service, I have no problem with that. But attributing to them achievements that have been done by someone else frankly is an insult to those who actually did it.

@ragingloli Flame off. This day is for appreciating those who have served for our country. It has nothing to do with the reasons why.

appreciation is one thing. quasi religious worship is another. which is what the op’s post is.

Thanks to all the Veterans.
I greatly respect their sacrifice and the sacrifice that their families made.

It’s 11:00 a.m. here in Ontario, Canada (EST). Two minutes of silence….

@ragingloli
yes, I’m sorry your right.
those greedy fucking veterans getting a day of remembrance for being shot, burned, blown up.

what was I thinking
stupid me for honoring people that went through hell to stop Hitler.
wow don’t I feel dumb

”stupid me for honoring people that went through hell to stop Hitler.”
praise the red army for that

moment of silence

Alright, I have to agree a little. Skippy is taking a lot of credit away from people who actually did have a lot to do with what makes this country what it is today. I don’t think its fair to say that Lawyers had nothing to do with our right to a fair trial when it was the minds of lawyers and political theorist and politicians who devised the constitution. Where would we be without the soldiers who sacrificed everything, but where would we be without these great minds to give the soldiers something to fight for?
Soldiers sacrificed more than we can imagine to make these dreams a reality, lets be sure to give them credit for this.

@Grisaille ; Wow! Can I copy that, remove the parts that are specific to the asker and post it on my facebook status? That’s downright poetic!!!

Every post in this thread is a tribute to Veterans despite what is written.

Appreciate what they have done always- no. Obviously, At certain points in history, soldiers have been ordered to do lots of nasty things. It’s a mixed bag depending on what conflict we are taking about. War is messy.

That’s radically different from appreciating their service and sacrifice though (I do). What I don’t appreciate is a government that makes poor decisions about the use of our troops and takes pitiful care of them once they are back. Honor the dead by honoring the living.

I am Canadian.

I attended a remembrance day event today. I respect those who scarificed for their country’s behalf.

I think the original post is a lie. Everyone can contribute to freedom in their own ways, soldiers are not the only people who give us freedom, freedom is not given by other people, if we believe in freedom, we would fight for it, not only with our bullets or boots, but with our values, and the every day action we shown to others in all areas of life.

I think there are politicans and other people who pay lip services to remembering the dead, but they don’t even care about those who are alive now. They are hypocrites.

The theatrical act of putting soldiers into some ideal form of human perfection that gave humanity freedom from evil is fascism and it degrades the ugly nature of war and the true experience of soldiers , which are not always altruistic or heroic.

Now José Martí, there you have your poet, your political activist and your soldier, all rolled into one. However that’s by the by, the real tragedy is the mentality that thought fit to post such garbled clap trap. What a hideously warped concept.

@Judi Certainly. Though I personally think @Dog Has the correct, most poetic and thought provoking response here.