I think half of us understand firsthand the caring that is at the heart of the U.S. military, but for others of us who are not part of the tradition, we just look from a distance and don't quite get it.
An interesting and provocative idea. I felt the finger was pointing to me as one of those who don't "get it," and that maybe I should re-examine my thinking on the subject.
Well, I feel that I might do so, at least to the degree of making a distinction between the "grunts" on the one hand and the generals (whom I still hate heartily) on the other.
My first-hand experience of the military consists of having been a cadet in Basic ROTC while in college. (I had to take ROTC. I was attending a land-grant college, and two years—that is, "basic" ROTC—was compulsory, though I tried to get out of it. I did manage to graduate with one-half credit hour less of ROTC than was required; it's a long story, how I managed that.)
I chose Air Force ROTC out of the choice of Army, Air Force, and Navy, simply because Air Force ROTC cadets did not drill with a rifle—and I didn't want to touch a gun, even a mock one.
In the late Spring, when the weather might be quite warm, we Air Force cadets had to drill in our heavy wool winter uniforms—the only ones we had—and it was not uncommon for a cadet to collapse from heat on the drill field. So much for "caring" on the part of the higher-ups.
I don't think I would personally like very many military people or veterans. Statistics show that veterans (and, even more so, veterans' organizations) are politically conservative and they vote Republican. And I believe they are consistently hawkish and they love war. They get together to share nostalgic recollections of the good old days of bombing the shit out of tens of thousands of civilians. (I know, that's harsh.)
Even if the lower-ranking personnel are deserving of my sympathy, I think maybe I can draw a parallel with the Catholic Church. I have a friend who is a former Roman Catholic priest. We don't talk very much about his having been a priest and not at all about his leaving the priesthood; it probably had to do with his being gay.
But he has been telling me that it's the Church hierarchy—bishops and so forth—who are conservative and opposed to a lot of social changes both within and without the Church; and—again according to my friend—even the rank-and-file priests are critical of the position of the bishops and the Church hierarchy, and at least in their hearts oppose those conservative forces in their church.
So maybe it's similar with the military: maybe there is a wide chasm between the higher officers and the men in the lower ranks.
My most popular (in terms of number of pageviews) posting on this blog has been the one I titled "The Military Dehumanizes People," posted on May 25, 2009. And I stand by every word of what I said there.
Update: Expanded on June 10, 2012.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Richard Stein
