Should We Honor Military Personnel?

August 20, 2019

Someone asks a legitimate question after a conversation about the U.S. military: If the U.S. military did the right thing, then shouldn’t we honor them? My answer was something like this: Not any more than the cook at Waffle House.

To give you more context—

What he is asking is if all U.S. troops came home; all U.S. military bases on foreign soil were closed; military personnel stopped being the president’s personal attack force; all foreign wars and military adventures were ended; all drone strikes and bombing stopped; U.S. foreign policy ceased to be reckless, belligerent, and meddling; and military personnel secured U.S. borders, patrolled U.S. skies, guarded U.S. coasts, and actually stood ready to defend the United States—then should we honor U.S. military personnel?

It all comes down to this: Should we honor military personnel if they actually did the jobs they were supposed to do?

If we are going to honor military personnel just for doing their jobs, then there are a whole lot of people in the United States that we should likewise honor. The Free Society Laurence M. Vance Best Price: $13.55 Buy New $17.54 (as of 04:55 UTC - Details)

Should we honor military personnel more than taxi drivers?

Should we honor military personnel more than nurses?

Should we honor military personnel more than physicians?

Should we honor military personnel more than construction workers?

Should we honor military personnel more than cooks?

Should we honor military personnel more than waiters and waitresses?

Should we honor military personnel more than hotel maids?

Should we honor military personnel more than airline pilots?

Should we honor military personnel more than stewardesses?

Should we honor military personnel more than physical therapists?

Should we honor military personnel more than radiologists?

Should we honor military personnel more than referees and umpires?

Should we honor military personnel more than carpenters?

Should we honor military personnel more than ministers?

Should we honor military personnel more than barbers?

Should we honor military personnel more than garbage men?

Should we honor military personnel more than convenience store clerks?

Should we honor military personnel more than fast food workers?

Should we honor military personnel more than truck drivers?

Should we honor military personnel more than pizza delivery drivers?

Should we honor military personnel more than lab technicians?

Should we honor military personnel more than electricians?

Should we honor military personnel more than accountants?

Should we honor military personnel more than engineers?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who remove the dead from their homes and clean things up?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who work at dead-end jobs with no benefits?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who work for low pay?

Should we honor military personnel more than bank tellers?

Should we honor military personnel more than architects?

Should we honor military personnel more than gynecologists?

Should we honor military personnel more than landscapers?

Should we honor military personnel more than delivery drivers?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who shine shoes in airports?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who write apps?

Should we honor military personnel more than coal miners?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who clean windows on skyscrapers?

Should we honor military personnel more than day care workers? Gun Control and the Se... Laurence M. Vance Buy New $5.95 (as of 11:36 UTC - Details)

Should we honor military personnel more than those who work in nursing homes?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who work in call centers?

Should we honor military personnel more than roofers?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who pick vegetables?

Should we honor military personnel more than mechanics?

Should we honor military personnel more than Hospice workers?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who provide tech support?

Should we honor military personnel more than those who do volunteer work?

I could go on and on. Just contemplate for a moment all the benefits that these people bring to society.

And notice that I didn’t mention anyone who worked for the government.

The Best of Laurence M. Vance

Tags:

$post_author: WP_User Object
(
    [data] => stdClass Object
        (
            [ID] => 231
            [user_login] => laurence-m-vance
            [user_pass] => $P$B5G3ZxuOAlYjSeiYi35AMZHpWcfrCr.
            [user_nicename] => laurence-m-vance
            [user_email] => [email protected]
            [user_url] => 
            [user_registered] => 2011-12-07 16:12:28
            [user_activation_key] => 
            [user_status] => 0
            [display_name] => Laurence M. Vance
            [type] => wpuser
        )

    [ID] => 231
    [caps] => Array
        (
            [author] => 1
        )

    [cap_key] => wp_capabilities
    [roles] => Array
        (
            [0] => author
        )

    [allcaps] => Array
        (
            [upload_files] => 1
            [edit_posts] => 1
            [edit_published_posts] => 1
            [publish_posts] => 1
            [read] => 1
            [level_2] => 1
            [level_1] => 1
            [level_0] => 1
            [delete_posts] => 1
            [delete_published_posts] => 1
            [email_single_user] => 1
            [email_multiple_users] => 1
            [tablepress_edit_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_delete_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_list_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_add_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_copy_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_import_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_export_tables] => 1
            [tablepress_access_options_screen] => 1
            [tablepress_access_about_screen] => 1
            [author] => 1
        )

    [filter] => 
    [site_id:WP_User:private] => 1
)

get_the_author_meta:

$bio: Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from central Florida. He is the author of The Free Society; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest book is The U.S. Proxy War in Ukraine.

$bios: Array
(
    [0] => Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from central Florida. He is the author of The Free Society; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest book is The U.S. Proxy War in Ukraine.
)

Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from central Florida. He is the author of The Free Society; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest book is The U.S. Proxy War in Ukraine.

Previous article by Laurence M. Vance: Why Not Eliminate Both Departments?

Should We Honor Military Personnel?

Political Theatre

LRC Blog

LRC Podcasts