mmarsh
Active member
Mmarsh, your argument is not without some merit, but after all is said and done, it must be remembered that the Military forces are not run as a democracy. However that does not mean that the members are all of the one view, politically or in most other ways. I must admit that generally they treat civvies somewhat warily but often this is as a result of the treatment they received from the civilian population over the years. Also having been in the services they get to see things that civilians never see and rarely hear about, some of these experiences shape their personalities in ways that give rise to the average civilians perceptions of who and what a Service member is. Civilians see the result but rarely if ever comprehend the underlying causes.
The one thing worth remembering, is that serving and ex-serving members have seen both sides of the coin, many people seem to forget that we have also been civilians.
I have been a civilian for 48 of my 60 years, if anyone feels that my service attitude shows through, that should tell people that obviously those 12 years were a unique learning experience that I value highly. No one forced these views upon me, it was a decision I made myself, and I should imagine that is the case for most ex-service persons.
I have noticed that even ex-service persons who disliked their time in the services, are almost without exception, proud of having served whether it be as a Staff Officer or Clod buster.
Yes, Service personnel are different, there's no argument there, but I feel that they are still highly individualistic, you only have to read some of the posts on this Forum to see that. Also like most people, the person you meet on the 'net often has little semblance to that person in real life.
-------------------------
When my father was a young U.S Army Lieutenant in the early 1960s the Army was totally apolitical. That is no longer the case. The US military has been used to indoctrinate people into far right ideologies. For example they still play Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and FOX NEWS over Armed Forces Radio + Television. They do NOT allow liberal\democrat views from being aired, such as Ed Schultz who was denied access in 2005.
Furthermore there has been a tolerance for far-right evangelical Christian groups (and other far right public\private interest groups) to become associated with the military and finally there is a unhealthy relationship between Republican politicians and the DOD. (Yes the democrats have got their photo-ops too), but not to the levels we have seen politicans get to 'play' soldiers. Bush's 2003 'Mission Accomplished' melodrama is case in point.
And its all a attempt to instill a rightwing political ideology into the military, where it absolutely doesn't belong. A friend of mine went into the USMC a bleeding heart liberal and came out a far right conservative 3 years later. I seriously doubt he had a 'magical' transformation, He was indoctrinated.
I have never heard of civvies mistreating soldiers except during the Vietnam war (which was disgraceful). If the military or ex-military think they are treated badly its most likely because they not adapted back to 'civilian life' -they threat people as if they were all in the service.
Look at this Forum. I have had some military and ex-military talk to me as if a was a 1st day recruit and they were the Drill Sargent, and then they were the ones who got angry and upset because they were unaccustomed to be told I told to 'stick it' in the place where the sun don't shine.
Just yesterday another poster on this very thread someone made a rather arrogant and rude insinuations about 'civvies' (suggesting they didn't know anything about professionalism) that was meant as a sneer to those who have never served. So I would say there is far more evidence that says military or ex-military that are ruder to civilians than visa versa. Keep reading this forum if you don't believe me. I don't know of anyone (at least of the 'regulars' or 'non-radicals') here that has ever publicly insulted those who have served. The reverse on the other hand...
Last edited: