Friday, February 17, 2012

Soldiers are just doing their jobs

Why is it that everyone feels the need to thank a soldier for his service, but nobody says thanks to a police officer? Just like the cop, a solider is doing the job he is getting paid to do. Only, when we are in trouble, we don’t call the Army, we call the police. We call the “local heroes”.

People aren’t getting together and flying across the seas to foreign lands to fight just because of the good in their hearts. Soldiers get paid, and they are told what to do and where to go. In theory, it’s an honorable profession, but if you watch the news at all, you know they are humans who make mistakes and do heinous things sometimes.

I find it comical that the guy shooting the guns is held in high regard, but the shot-caller, the President, is constantly flamed. Without being told where to go and who/what to destroy, a soldier is just a guy in funny-looking clothes. The President makes all the decisions.

When the parts guy gets your alternator from the back, do you look at him with a glean in your eye and thank him for his service? No. He wouldn’t get the alternator for you if it wasn’t in his job description. It’s what he does to put food on the table, same as anyone else.

So, why the soldier? A few years ago, it was fire men and women. Now, it’s soldiers. I hope the cops get a turn, because they do some really nasty stuff for us while we are at home, asleep in our beds. I guess it’s just me, but I like to focus on the local guys. The attorneys, the doctors and nurses, the police and fire, the forest rangers; these are the men and women keeping our communities going. As far as I can see, soldiers fight political and religious battles, and poke their heads in when other countries are warring. Umm, thanks, I guess.

And no, I’m not speaking as an armchair quarterback, here. I know several police officers and several soldiers, and none of them feel like heroes. They are men and women who signed up to do a particular job, and they do it as best they can. That’s neat and all, but I’m going to thank the Mom and Pop grocery owners or the local city council for working hard to keep my immediate community thriving. Then again, I’m not much for bandwagons.

Don’t get me wrong, here, I’m not bashing soldiers in any way, shape, or form; I’m just pointing out that the compulsive need to thank each and every one we see is a little out of hand. Okay, a lot out of hand. It’s gone into the realm of ridiculous.

Yes, we fouled up when our boys came home from ‘Nam. Society wasn’t as informed as it is today and, by and large, had no understanding of the awfulness they went through. Now that has changed a little, but the pendulum has swung completely in the other direction to where if you wear a uniform, you are to be revered as godlike. Not for me.

I do honor our service men and women and I do think it takes a certain kind of someone to do the job effectively, but I also realize that the Commander in Chief should also be revered highly. After all, he’s the guy moving the pieces on the chessboard. Anyone want to give a couple props to Obama?

Nah. I didn’t think so.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know how I feel about this. Kudos to you for voicing it.

Adelle said...

Cops are the bad guys who give you tickets and take you to jail when you break the law. They're not rescuing you from burning buildings or saving your life in the back of an ambulance. People thanked them for a good two weeks after 9/11. I think they thought that was good enough.

Derek Odom said...

Seriously? Nobody ever got a speeding ticket going 34 in a 35 zone. Speeders are the bad guys. It's the cop's job to punish the rule-breakers. :)

URWelcome said...

Cops get thanked PLENTY. Anyone who has called them for assistance thanks them wholeheartedly before they leave. They do NOT get a thank you when they charge you $250...

Although, I agree that soldiers get more "thanks" than maybe they deserve.. Everyone that I have known that went into the army, went in for a steady job, with good benefits, with a bonus of being able to drive hummers and shoot automatic rifles. They do it by choice. Maybe if there were a draft, that would be a different story.

As far as giving Obama thanks, um.. you're doing the same idiotic thing as thanking the soldiers. He is just a talking head that passes on the commands given to him from his subordinates. So for your chess analogy, Obama is the robotic arm that physically moves the piece that the ACTUAL chess player programmed it to move. Obama knows NOTHING about combat, he is not the one moving the pieces.

Stopping a cop on the street and saying thank you, is the same thing as saying thank you to a soldier.. You are thanking them for the jobs they do, to keep you safe, when you're not paying attention. If soldiers were battling, and holding back an enemy in Los Angeles, you would thank them. Which is EXACTLY the same as thanking a cop after he shows up at your house and files a report about something that was stolen.. You thank them when they help YOU.. The actual debate here is that you don't believe soldiers are helping you. But I also don't see you walking up to random cops and saying thank you ;)