Why Does Our Culture Force Us To Act Proud Of The Military

Why are American people so proud of their military service members?

We are proud of our soldiers because we live in a country that has never experienced modern warfare within its borders.  What that means is that virtually the only casualties of a war for the US are incurred by our fighting women and men.  Ironically, where modern war is fought, the greatest number of deaths is usually incurred among the civilian population.  What we experienced during 911 is unfortunately the normal pattern of modern warfare.  It is estimated that civilian casualty percentages increased until WWII where 2/3 of the deaths of the conflict were of civilians that were targeted.  One only need think of the bombing of cities like London, Hiroshima, Stalingrad, and Dresden as examples. Even pinpoint bombing like the Pakistani or Yemeni drone strikes have frightening "collateral" deaths.Again, we have been spared the terrible human tragedy of war; only our fighters have experienced it and deserve all of the empathy we can offer.

Why is the USA so obsessed with its military?

In many countries—particularly European ones—people who are nationalistic are regarded with suspicion. If you too loudly celebrate your allegiance to your country or proclaim its superiority to other countries, you're taken to be some sort of crypto-fascist. There's a general consensus that this sort of thinking is dangerous and you shouldn't indulge in it.Perhaps because we never really suffered under fascism, this simply isn't the case in the United States. American conservatives demand displays of patriotism in public life, and American liberals don't really have a reason to say "no" that people will accept.As a result, patriotic displays are a part of everyday life in America. Schoolchildren recite the Pledge of Allegiance in class each morning. Professional sporting events begin with everyone in the stadium—players and spectators alike—facing the flag while someone sings The Star-Spangled Banner. Several times a year, the country essentially shuts down to celebrate explicitly patriotic holidays—only Christmas beats the Fourth of July in terms of businesses closing.And, yes, we "honor the troops", active-duty and veteran alike, fairly often. But this actually has very little to do with reverence for military itself; it's simply another way of displaying patriotic fervor, of wearing your love for America on your sleeve. Like the other patriotic displays, conservatives love doing this stuff and liberals find it vaguely distasteful but know that saying so is not politically acceptable.

What would George Washington think of today's US military?

It’s a little hard to gauge the reaction of someone from nearly 250 years ago, even if we do have more writings from him than a typical person from that era. We can make wild guesses, but keep in mind they are little more than guesses. I’ve seen way more certainty in other answers than I deem appropriate.That being said, here’s my wild guesses! He generally disapproved of a “standing army” in peacetime, because he saw firsthand how the British acted before the war. He envisioned a well-armed populace that could easily be called up as militia as they are needed.So I gather he would be a little confused by the idea that the military was so organized and very much “standing”. However, he’d probably be aware that foreign affairs may be more complex now that the U.S. is one of the “big boys” in the world, and this might be considered sufficient reason to maintain such a military. Or maybe not.I imagine he would be displeased by all the “entangling alliances” that are causing many of our soldiers to be stationed in other nations. Why aren’t those allies helping themselves, and why is the U.S. footing most of the bill for all of this?Politically, he’d look at both Democrats and Republicans, shake his head, and mutter, “I specifically told them not to do this. Why didn’t they listen?”

As a liberal, are you proud to be an American? Why?

I don’t fly a made in China American Flag in front of my house.I don’t own and would never wear a red MAGA hat.I do stand for the national anthem when it’s played at public events. I put my hand over my heart and sing loudly, proudly, and I think beautifully, about the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”I support the right of those who want to kneel instead and not sing during the national anthem, as their way of protesting against the racism practiced by the current President, Donny Demento. Freedom to express our opinions peacefully is part of what makes me proud to be an American.I spent several months living in Mexico — a beautiful country populated by beautiful good people. I had a really great time there but, in the end, I discovered that I was happy to be an American. Our way of life, believe it or not, is more fair and just than the Mexican way of life — even now when our President is doing many things that are not fair or just.I am not proud of some of the things our country has done in the past and is doing today. I’m not proud of the War in Vietnam. I’m not proud we had a Crook as President during that war. I’m not proud of the Trail of Tears and not proud that we had a Crook as President during that time when we were persecuting Native Americans. I’m not proud of today’s politicians who committed treason by conspiring with our enemies the Russians nor the Treasonous President, Crooked Donny Demento who was behind the conspiracy. But I remind myself that the vast majority of our Presidents have not been crooks and I firmly believe that we will have an honest President again after the 2020 election.Bottom line: While I’m not proud of everything our country has done, there are many more things our country has done and things our country stands for that I am extremely proud of, sufficiently enough to say that I’m proud to be an American and would not want to be a citizen of any other country.On the other hand, I think there are many other good countries too and I wish the world could all be just one big happy global village with no borders. Do you know that was the original goal of the original World Wide Web project?

Why does the US (and a lot of the world) glorify soldiers and war? Do people not realise if we all took a stand against war and refused to become soldiers, the world would have no wars?

Thats an idealogy that will never come to fruition.Its human nature that absolute power corrupts absolutely ….and some people will want to take what others have and they will prefer to take it from you instead of earning it. ( e.g. First Gulf war when Saddam captured Kuwait)or just the burglar who tries to break into your home and rape your wife.Some people want to rule everything( e.g. Roman Empire,Ottoman Empire, Hitler, Alexander the Great,Genghis Khan)Or cultures that are narcissistic,egotistical and paranoid always distrust everyone else( Soviet Union, North Korea)People have too much faith in other human beings. No matter how civilized the world may get, there is always going to be someone less civilized than another.On a semi silly note I remember an episode of the Simpsons mentioning what would happen if the world would give up weapons… Then an alien spaceship comes down and tries to conquer everything.Or an episode on Star Trek Deep Space Nine when they talk about the Mirror universe of humanity being conquerors and then adopt a more peaceful philosophy… only to be conquered and totally enslaved by a brutal alliance of evil species.Those last 2 examples are sci-fi but still as long as the possibility remains…. we need to defend ourselves.You need to wake up and smell reality, Your idea may happen- but God help us if it does,because all what will happen is someone else who will want what we have decides to build an army will conquer us …… and if we dont have any ourselves, it will be a short fight.