Wrong to thank troops for protecting freedom?

I do agree with this guy's assertion that the patriotic back patting of the military by sports and politicians has gone overboard. As a veteran, I like watching baseball, not 8x of 3 min "thank you to our troops" features + God Bless America with a little hardball thrown in. The military themed unis in college look ridiculous also (except for Navy's of course...those are some of the best).

As a veteran, support the USO, support the local veterans groups. Go to airshows...they're amazing. On Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and July 4th I think it's awesome to go bonkers for the military and veterans. But during a wild-card game in January stick to football. I fought for American institutions like freedom and our sports...not to be worshipped.*

That said, that guy's opinion on how freedom exists, how he can work as a journalist in the private sector is truly off the wall.

*Correction - If you are charming young lady, it is ALWAYS okay and encouraged to show your support for the troops, especially in a bar. If you're a 300lbs former left guard at SHSU...that's just awkard.
 
To be honest I only read about half the article because I couldn't hold down my breakfast anymore. If this guy thinks our freedom would still exist without the military he is absolutely a lost soul.

I do question some of the conflicts the military is sent to join.
 
This is an interesting view point in that article
I can't speal or how combat vets feel about lavish displays during sporting events but yesterday I did talk to as many vets as I could.
The WWII vets who proudly wear their unit baseball hats seem touched that people still remember.
Nam vets appreciate the different atmosphere from when they came back from nam and were spat on or ignored as if they had done something horrid.
Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan say it was their privilege to do it.

ALL say they would do it again, go into harm's way for their country.
yes it could seem those displays were self serving for the teams and organizations BUT it also allowed many hundreds of thousands to say Thank You.
 
It's funny because he actually gets close to making what I think is a valid (but definitely controversial) observation. I actually understand people who bristle at the idea that troops overseas in third-world countries are "protecting our freedom". I understand why they don't like that point, and to some extent I actually DO think we go overboard making that statement. Frankly I doubt my freedom would suffer much at all if all the troops suddenly came home tomorrow. (Other things would definitely suffer, although they might not directly impact me at first or even ever... but that's a whole other discussion.)

Where he loses me is when he twists words to claim that people are saying we are only free at the pleasure of the military. That's just a ludicrous statement and I doubt even he really believes that's what people mean.
 
Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this attitude. Americans are becoming more and more entitled especially younger Americans. They have no idea how lucky they are to live in America and the freedom they enjoy mainly due to the sacrifices of our military. Truly sad.
 
the article is from Salon, the home of east coast snarky.

The military does protect our freedoms but also engages in a lot of politically based stupidity. When my sons were talking about joining I pointed out to them that it meant doing whatever Bill Clinton or W decided was worth doing.

MY dad had fought in the Pacific in WW II and warned me as a teenager that LBJ was not worth dying for.and that the country was not threatened by Viet Nam.

If they get to Pettus, be combat ready, he said.
 
huisache, all the more reason to be thankful for those who do volunteer so that we have enough people that many of us can choose not to volunteer. It would suck if we got to a point that we needed a draft just to keep a standing army.
 
This
' but it's a long shot because of our military capability. "
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That is such a basic truth I hope we never forget.
but reading some of the posts here make me wonder.
 
I would characterize it this way. The military is that safety net that by its very existence protects freedom, however the routine employment of the military is more typically about protecting our "interests". There have been just a few occasions where the military can be directyly tied to protecting freedom here, but there are a few more occasions where our military has protected freedom elsewhere and in the cold war situation you could argue that stemming the tide of communism was in effect protecting freedom.

I too get a little jaded by the seemingly self-serving veterans acknowledgments but I'm not sure of a better alternative. the military can be a crappy life and one of the things that can make it seem worthwhile is when people express their appreciation and admiration for your service.
 
We can go in circles about the semantics of "protecting freedom" all day. I think we celebrate veterans because they were willing to put their lives on the line for their country no matter what. Maybe it was a direct protection of freedom, maybe it was protecting out economic interests, or even a stupid political ploy. Either way, they stepped up put their life on the line and that is what we celebrate.

When I was a high school senior, I thought about going into the military but decided on college. In my second week of college, 9/11 happened. My sophomore year of college we went into Iraq. I personally know several people that died there. Forget whether Iraq was for protecting freedom or oil profiteering. Those people willingly went over there and got shot at because they were told to and we can never celebrate that enough in my mind.
 
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