Glorifying Military Service

In the news: The VFW, American Legion and the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department tell us that people who did time in uniform are heroes who protect our freedoms:

Hometown heroes recognized for service to country; banners to be displayed in Santa Maria

“The purpose of this program is to remind the public of the vital service given and sacrifice made by our neighbors through their military service, and to thank them for their service protecting our freedoms,” Posada said”

“Each hero, or his or her family, received a plaque Tuesday night and soon will be recognized with a personalized banner to be displayed above South College Road near Bradley Square for the next six months.”

Doing time in the US Armed Forces & living in the community are the two qualifications for being a hero and protecting our freedoms.

More from the VFW:

Veterans, not politicians, ‘give us the right to vote,’ observers at Amherst Veterans Day ceremonies told

Veterans give rights?

It turns out The Troops were in no hurry to enable all adults to act on their right to vote.

US Military operations conducted in the 1940s, 50s & 60s didn’t get the job done.

It wasn’t until July of 1971 that 18 year old adults could take delivery on one of the freedoms we hear so much about.

Hey school teachers– if veterans fought for our right to vote- how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?

Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?

“If “Men died for your right to vote!”, how did we manage to elect politicians after the Fall of Saigon in 1975?”

In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.

In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.

As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.

If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.

Why do we pretend that the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?

Good luck to today’s youngest generations. The indoctrination levels are higher now than when I grew up during the Cold War.

If The Troops were an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:

The Troops were nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since.

Sports has tended to be a more honest part of American culture. Lately, well known players are involved in a marketing campaign featuring Salute to Service TV ads to fix the glorification of military service messages in our minds.

Undeclared/unwon wars that never end?

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The purpose is to protect our freedoms: