Honor Veterans, but for some reason, we don't "get" them...

[texas_ex2000]

A couple of things I've seen at work, a major bank, prompted this thought. There are a lot of veterans here who definitely have different perspectives on this, so I want to hear them. I'm not talking about specific policies...I'm talking about general attitudes.

I'm one of the leaders of our bank's veterans network. We do various veterans related volunteer activities in our area, mainly flag waiving bull $h!t, but we have taught financial literacy classes to JROTC cadets in a few local high schools and we're ramping up veterans recruiting.

Now my actual work team, not the veterans network, in a few weeks will be signing cards to send to troops deployed overseas. None of my colleagues are veterans or have children in the military.

I've noticed that in my office, despite all the pronouncements of valuing veterans' experiences and considering veterans part of our diversity initiatives, leadership place zero value in my naval perspectives as it relates to management, training our people (particularly our youngest employees), what leadership promises and what they actually deliver, and communications. ZERO. Despite management's (lifelong bankers and credit analysts) attempts to control who works with interns, the interns and young employees all come to me with questions about technical financial questions, career questions, and life questions. That sort of relationship with subordinates is not unusual at all for junior officers. Taking care of your people is priority number 1.

When trying to rationalize this, I've noticed something. I am the outlier politically at work, so I keep my mouth shut and my head down, but my office is decidedly anti-gun. They read from the Michael Bloomberg playbook. I can't get into it, but these politics of our leadership has started to affect our business. Think wedding cakes.

It's obvious to me that in our country today, in our desire (or guilt) to honor/revere/"support" our veterans we have also started to divorce veterans and the military - a profession of arms, from guns. Guns are politically incorrect, and we're starting to see the profession of arms itself slide into social stigma. This is a major cultural divide.

This PC white-washing of what soldiers actually do, shoot guns, dilutes our overtures to honor and value them and their sacrifices. As a naval officer, intel-weenie, and aircrew I can say with no reservation that those most deserving of our thanks and praise are the soldiers/grunts/marines/snake-eaters that have sacrificed the most for their country. And their entire existence is predicated on the rifle and marksmanship. It is who they are.

And while I know this is a little generalization, the vast majority of our veterans and especially grunts, first experience with guns was not in boot camp but as children. And here is where that cultural wedge starts. What I've seen in pro-gun families that introduce their children to shooting at a young age are, yes, the basics - safety, respect, sportsmanship, and fun, but also something much more serious (sort of like that sheep/wolves/sheepdogs dinner scene in American Sniper). I believe a lot of our infantry and special forces come from families that challenge them early on what they believe in. Do you believe in family? God? America? Do you think someone else from a different family in different part of the country believes the same? What are your principles? Do you believe your principles and some other American's principles are worth standing up for?

The answer should be yes. And marksmanship at that point takes on a whole new meaning. As much as we wish we could live in a James Cordon lip sync in a car video, there are people that want to destroy American principles and hurt Americans. They are not Democrats/Liberals/New Yorkers. They are not Republicans/Conservatives/Texans. They are people external to this country that want to hurt America. If you truly believe in those American principles, you may have to fight for them. You may have to fight for Americans and other friends who cannot fight for themselves. And that means learning to shoot a gun. And while we need to avoid conflict with all our efforts, there are things in this world worth fighting for and threats too dangerous to ignore.

From my perspective, when it comes down to it at is most fundamental element, that is what guns in America mean. Unfortunately, less than one-half of 1% of the U.S. population is in the armed services today — the lowest rate since World War II. This growing military-civilian gap hurts and divides us. The vitriolic cultural divide on guns are perhaps the best example of this gap.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Not only are fewer Americans in the military than in previous years, but it's disproportionately Southern and rural. So if you live in big cities or in the Northeast, you virtually don't know anybody who has ever been in the military. It's sad. Short of bringing back the draft (which would be ridiculously controversial), I don't see how you change this.

 

[Dionysus]

Maybe I misunderstand the gist of your post, but I can see where people can be generally opposed to owning and using firearms while also recognizing that these are sometimes the necessary tools of defense, security, and law enforcement. So maybe there is a disconnect there. With all the gun violence in our country it is understandable that many people will be turned off. It is an emotional issue too, I think.

I was raised around guns, learning to shoot as a young kid at the family farm near Crockett, got my first .22 rifle* when I was 11 years old. I still have some guns in the closet, but I don't hunt and honestly, I just don’t like guns. Maybe that’s irrational.

* True story: My dad took me to a gun shop when I was 11 to get my first rifle, a little .22 with a scope. On the way back from getting it we were about two blocks from our house, and we saw there was a police car in the street right in front of the house. We had no idea why. As we got closer we saw there was another car, next to the cop car — the drivers side door was open and the front seat was covered in blood, with a big puddle there where the seat meets the back.

What had happened was our neighbor across the street, a guy about 18-20 at the time, had been out with his buddy and a couple of girls. The buddy was a security guard somewhere and had a pistol in the car. My neighbor got out of the car and went in his house. His buddy and the two girls were in the car, and he pulled out of the driveway and into the street. For whatever reason, maybe goofing off or something, I don't know, he pulled out the pistol and shot himself in the head, right there in the car. The girls ran screaming down the street (this is the story the cop told us). They guy was taken to the hospital and died later that day. I never knew why he shot himself, maybe it was an accident.

This happened on the day I got my first gun. Maybe the experience just weirded me out, but my god I will never forget that bloody car sitting in front of our house. Sorry if I sidetracked your post.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

I also served and get a little bent out of shape about this phenomenon. I know there are some people and some entities/corporations that truly do want to take extra steps to honor, recognize and assist veterans but I often come away with the feeling that for many, it has become a superficial response. I feel like many people and companies feign support but their efforts are really just marketing ploys or media defense measures.

I do have to admit that in hiring situations it is a bit hit or miss. Some of the smartest minds and highest achievers I know are military but so are some of the most lazy.

Unfortunately, anytime a bad guy has even the most remote military connection, that is what gets emphasized in the media and many people that don't have military friends/family conclude that anyone that has served has been damaged in some way and has a propensity towards violence.

 

[Musburger1]

It's interesting that while the percentage of citizens in the military is at an all-time low, gun sales and the number of people who own guns is skyrocketing. Also, despite the low percentage of people in the armed forces, defense spending remains at high levels. I don't believe attitudes toward guns in general is a primary reason why the corporate world doesn't integrate well with veterans.

You mentioned upbringing as a factor and I think that's where society has made a transformation.. The one percent of People who are compelled to enlist tend to be less consumer/individual oriented and have more of a God/family/country mindset. The American corporate world definitely fits the former description and this is now the prevailing ideology in our globalist, materialistic society. Profit and individual achievement is the only thing that matters. Sharing, ethics, empathy, etc. are viewed as weakness or potential impediments to success by many.