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First, on behalf of all the vets that appreciate the sentiment, don't let my rant keep you from thanking them.
Just don't thank me.
First. I didn't join the U.S. military to fight for your freedom. I didn't really join to fight for anyone's freedom, it just seemed at the time like the thing to do. So I don't deserve anyone's thanks and I especially don't need or want the thanks of folks who didn't.
Cause here's the thing, I've never been thanked for serving by another vet. The only folks who thank we are the perfectly healthy (hell some of them look fit enough to be Navy SEALs) folks who I get the impression feel that by thanking a vet they have some how fulfilled some portion of their civic duty - I would have said military obligation but that went out the window with the all volunteer force. But the fact is, it doesn't.
The fact that today only 0.5% of the population serves in the military makes "the thanks for your service" line ring more than a bit hollow. It's sounds like gratuitous statement that you tell the help after they mow the lawn, clean the pool, cooked your dinner, or git rid of your roach infestation (or Jihadist as the case may be). But the fact is these kids that have just concluded fighting for 12 god damned years deserve a hell of a lot more than "a thank you for your service" it would have been better if the folks who are doing the thanking had stepped up to the plate and served alongside them.
I apologize if this rant offends anyone, but was hanging in a bar with a young guy who served three tours with the Marine Corps that I've been trying to get into counseling when a strapping guy his age who didn't serve but felt the need to interrupted our conversation to thank my young friend, "for his service."
PS - as we approach Memorial Day, I hope folks really take the time to think about what it means to send young people off to fight wars, that you aren't willing to fight in.
I don't support sending our soldiers over to fight in these wars. Its the most ignorant thing among many we are doing.
I don't blame the poor guy sent though. I blame Bush, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Boehner, McConnell etc right down the line.
The problem is we have to have people willing to do what they are instructed to in the military. They may actually have to be called to do something worthy one day but I'm afraid these wasted orders are going to screw that up before long.
So I'll tell someone thank you, not because I think what they are doing is a worthy effort but because they are still performing a needed service.....
I am probably far better off if I never personally get to tell those listed above what I think of them.
Status:
"Smartened up and walked away!"
(set 23 days ago)
11,772 posts, read 5,787,833 times
Reputation: 14190
Just wow! I thank everyone for service I receive whether it be a cashier or my doctor. My "Thank you for your service" to anyone that has served or is serving in the military comes from the heart. They may have joined the service for different reasons but that does not negate the fact that they were protecting my rights and freedom and for that I'm extremely grateful. So I sincerely, Thank you for your service.
Personally, I think that anyone who has fought in any war (or "conflict") after WWII did so for the wrong reasons -- either they were gullible and misled (the case with my ex-boyfriend), they didn't know what else to do with their lives (the case with one of my son's friends), they were pressured by their families to join (the case with my husband), and/or they wanted the benefits (current and future).
And I am truly and sincerely sorry if THIS offends anyone!
Gullible or misled? Really? How about DRAFTED? Personally, I think you need to re-think that position. And you didn't offend me.
Here's one. It happened to me while I was on crutches, in uniform, waiting for a train in Hoboken, New Jersey. I wonder if they (boy and girl) would have tried it if I wasn't on crutches.
I do understand your initial sentiment about the whole 'thank you for your service' thing and I agree with you. But rather than letting it get under my skin, as it apparently does with you, I just respond with my own rhetoric and say 'It was my honor', and let it go. Try it, it might help you get through the day a little easier.
I was a corpsman, I saved lives and I'm damned proud of it. The only thanks that I need from the folks I served with and the knowledge that someone I treated made it home. So please, keep your pop psychology to yourself because you are playing in areas over your head.
We're what you might call a "military" family , of combat veterans, BTW, and the almost perfrfunctory Thank you for your service gets under my skin, too.
I can't imagine thanking someone for service in the military simply because s/he's wearing an identifying cap, jacket, or t-shirt. And is this a war veteran, or someone who worked behind the scenes for 20 years (or far fewer, for the benefits)? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but in this family all veterans are not created equal
First, on behalf of all the vets that appreciate the sentiment, don't let my rant keep you from thanking them.
Just don't thank me.
First. I didn't join the U.S. military to fight for your freedom. I didn't really join to fight for anyone's freedom, it just seemed at the time like the thing to do. So I don't deserve anyone's thanks and I especially don't need or want the thanks of folks who didn't.
Cause here's the thing, I've never been thanked for serving by another vet. The only folks who thank we are the perfectly healthy (hell some of them look fit enough to be Navy SEALs) folks who I get the impression feel that by thanking a vet they have some how fulfilled some portion of their civic duty - I would have said military obligation but that went out the window with the all volunteer force. But the fact is, it doesn't.
The fact that today only 0.5% of the population serves in the military makes "the thanks for your service" line ring more than a bit hollow. It's sounds like gratuitous statement that you tell the help after they mow the lawn, clean the pool, cooked your dinner, or git rid of your roach infestation (or Jihadist as the case may be). But the fact is these kids that have just concluded fighting for 12 god damned years deserve a hell of a lot more than "a thank you for your service" it would have been better if the folks who are doing the thanking had stepped up to the plate and served alongside them.
I apologize if this rant offends anyone, but was hanging in a bar with a young guy who served three tours with the Marine Corps that I've been trying to get into counseling when a strapping guy his age who didn't serve but felt the need to interrupted our conversation to thank my young friend, "for his service."
PS - as we approach Memorial Day, I hope folks really take the time to think about what it means to send young people off to fight wars, that you aren't willing to fight in.
"I apologize if this", as you should.
Who do you think YOU are to tell others how to show appreciation for those that served.
And all the "thank you for your service don't mean diddly."
^^^That's what bothers me the most. Everything like TY for your service is just lip service
if everything else we are suppose to provide for them is out of whack.
For this Memorial Day, donate to the Vietnam Vets of America or another worthwhile organization
that actually TRIES to help them. And, please hound your Congress into doing things
that not only make sense but are cost effective FOR the VETS!
Oh, and most importantly - Stop the Wars!
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