Soldiers Are Not Heroes

[Novaheart]

And our DUmmie friends are quick to jump on the bandwagon, after all, it's anti-American so it's good!!!

I'm not sure I was ever instructed on exactly what "hero" means, but I have never understood it being applied to anyone who hadn't done something heroic. Referring to someone as "my hero" was a literary usage with a touch of comic exaggeration. When a soldier/vet was described as a "war hero" it was usually followed with some justification, ie "Joseph Mumford died at Manor Care Home, he was 63. A decorated war hero, he distinguished himself in the Ardennes and subsequently at ..... "

When a firefighter was described as a hero it was for running into a burning building, not for washing the truck.

Sports figures are not heros in my book.

I've always thought that "served with honor" was a good description for those to whom the expression would apply.

[Odysseus]

DU is like many boards- a couple of dozen regular loudmouths keep the threads active while multitudes comment quietly now and then and avoid conflict.

However, your notion that all the occupations you consider noble and self sacrificing are devoid of liberals, progressives, or those who post on DU is not supported by reason. Moreover you skip over or evade the fact that in good times or bad, the jobs you have listed tend to be stable and come with reliable paychecks and good benefits. Or perhaps by "Dummies" you are referring to the subset of membership on that board which would more generally be classified as dumbass fucking stupid poo poo heads? In which case, it would be like judging the intellectual and moral fiber of Conservative Underground by the likes of Bailey or Hawkgirl.

Way to raise the tone of your posts, there.

It's no secret that progressives tend to hate the armed forces precisely because there aren't a lot of them in the ranks, and because they have a reflexive antiwar stance, regardless of the facts. The military is also a lot more conservative than the general population (among veterans and active duty military, Democrats tend to pull down roughly half of what they get in genderal elections). The first and only time that I logged into DU as a member was to respond to a Cindy Sheehan thread, in which I pointed out that I was deployed, and didn't appreciate her undermining our mission. The responses ran the gamut from snide to outright evil, with a few hoping that I would die soon. They made no secret of how they felt.

Lots of people miss out on holidays, children's birthdays, anniversaries, etc., many of them working so that those with small children can have off. Get off the cross.

There's a difference between missing whole years of out your child's life because of a deployment, and putting yourself in harm's way to protect your country, and taking a shift so that a married worker can have time with his or her kids. If you can't tell the difference, then you have a problem.

[Generation Why?]

I just lay low. People have bashed me before for being in the Army. I just say "Well it's your right to think that way. Have a nice day." I don't want to, and never will get into a pissing contest with any of them. Not worth it. And it is their right of free speech and free mind to think those things, and say them to an extent. I'm not losing any sleep over it.

[Novaheart]

There's a difference between missing whole years of out your child's life because of a deployment, and putting yourself in harm's way to protect your country, and taking a shift so that a married worker can have time with his or her kids. If you can't tell the difference, then you have a problem.

There certainly is, however NJCARDFAN's depiction was not limited to the military nor was it further limited to those deployed for long periods of time. Perhaps I read it differently than you did.

[Novaheart]

The military is also a lot more conservative than the general population (among veterans and active duty military, Democrats tend to pull down roughly half of what they get in genderal elections).

And yet it's liberals who keep pushing for a draft, so that the military will be more representative of the population and so more Americans will have a stake in how the military is used, and force politicians to make decisions that progressives and liberals consider to be more in keeping with national defense rather than national aggression.

Not saying that I agree. Personally, it seems to make more sense for those serving to be serving because they choose to serve. I also don't actually buy into the perception that the military is overwhelmingly conservative. As you yourself have stated, there is consider pressure to conform and to please, so it's hard to imagine how any poll would accurately reflect the status.

However, here is a poll : http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/0...vance_041110w/


An exclusive survey of some 1,800 active-duty troops shows the percentage of self-identified Republicans has decreased by one-third since 2004, from 60 percent to 41 percent, while the percentage of self-identified independents has nearly doubled to 32 percent during the same period.


So if Republicans are 41% and Independents are 32% that leaves 27% for the Democrats. Nationally the country is split almost into thirds. So Republicans are clearly higher than representation in the general population, but not completely out of alignment. I think that if the military were indeed overwhelmingly Republican, then it would be something that needs looking at.

[noonwitch]

I just lay low. People have bashed me before for being in the Army. I just say "Well it's your right to think that way. Have a nice day." I don't want to, and never will get into a pissing contest with any of them. Not worth it. And it is their right of free speech and free mind to think those things, and say them to an extent. I'm not losing any sleep over it.

That's a good attitude.

But anyone who would mistreat a soldier because they don't like how the political leadership is using the military is a dumbass.

I was at the Panera Bread in Jackson, MI in March, and a young woman in army fatigues was seated alone at a table by the door. I told her "Thank you for your service" as I walked by her table on my way out. I might not have agreed with the reasons for the war in Iraq, but I'm not going to mistreat military personnel over it. They are still voluntarily risking their lives for the nation and deserve respect for that.

[Hawkgirl]

Dit would be like judging the intellectual and moral fiber of Conservative Underground by the likes of Bailey or Hawkgirl.

.

I really get under your skin, huh twinkletoes? Who put the stick in your ass last night? It wasn't me.

[Odysseus]

And yet it's liberals who keep pushing for a draft, so that the military will be more representative of the population and so more Americans will have a stake in how the military is used, and force politicians to make decisions that progressives and liberals consider to be more in keeping with national defense rather than national aggression.

No, liberals kept pushing for a draft under Bush because they wanted a broad, radicalized antiwar movement. If they wanted us to be more representative of the population, they'd simply sign up, or at least return ROTC to the Ivy League colleges. It's utter hypocrisy.

Not saying that I agree. Personally, it seems to make more sense for those serving to be serving because they choose to serve. I also don't actually buy into the perception that the military is overwhelmingly conservative. As you yourself have stated, there is consider pressure to conform and to please, so it's hard to imagine how any poll would accurately reflect the status.

However, here is a poll : http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/0...vance_041110w/


An exclusive survey of some 1,800 active-duty troops shows the percentage of self-identified Republicans has decreased by one-third since 2004, from 60 percent to 41 percent, while the percentage of self-identified independents has nearly doubled to 32 percent during the same period.


So if Republicans are 41% and Independents are 32% that leaves 27% for the Democrats. Nationally the country is split almost into thirds. So Republicans are clearly higher than representation in the general population, but not completely out of alignment. I think that if the military were indeed overwhelmingly Republican, then it would be something that needs looking at.

That doesn't prove that the military is less conservative. As the next part states:

These career-oriented officers and mid-grade and senior enlisted members are still far more conservative than liberal, but they are less likely today to identify with the GOP, the survey shows.

Much of the shift appears to have occurred only very recently, with the percentage of troops identifying themselves as Republican dropping nine percentage points from 2008 to 2009 and the percentage of those calling themselves independents increasing 10 points over the same period.

Respondents are also more pessimistic about the mission in Afghanistan, more optimistic about Iraq and virtually divided about President Obama’s performance as commander in chief.

Complete results of the unique survey, now in its seventh year, appear in the current issue of Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times, available on newsstands now. Subscribers can log in by clicking on the links below.

What this means is that during the last eight years, the more conservative troops shifted allegiance from the Republican Party to either independent registration or the Libertarians (quite a few of them in the ranks, especially among the junior grades). The Democrats haven't made any gains, however.

[m00]

Well, I will certainly agree that not all soldiers are heroes, but you don't exactly win the congressional medal of honor by working at McDonalds, or a 9-to-5 office job. Or for Gallantry in Posting on Hostile Internet Forums.

[NJCardFan]

No, liberals kept pushing for a draft under Bush because they wanted a broad, radicalized antiwar movement. If they wanted us to be more representative of the population, they'd simply sign up, or at least return ROTC to the Ivy League colleges. It's utter hypocrisy.



That doesn't prove that the military is less conservative. As the next part states:

These career-oriented officers and mid-grade and senior enlisted members are still far more conservative than liberal, but they are less likely today to identify with the GOP, the survey shows.

Much of the shift appears to have occurred only very recently, with the percentage of troops identifying themselves as Republican dropping nine percentage points from 2008 to 2009 and the percentage of those calling themselves independents increasing 10 points over the same period.

Respondents are also more pessimistic about the mission in Afghanistan, more optimistic about Iraq and virtually divided about President Obama’s performance as commander in chief.

Complete results of the unique survey, now in its seventh year, appear in the current issue of Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times, available on newsstands now. Subscribers can log in by clicking on the links below.

What this means is that during the last eight years, the more conservative troops shifted allegiance from the Republican Party to either independent registration or the Libertarians (quite a few of them in the ranks, especially among the junior grades). The Democrats haven't made any gains, however.

Nova cherry picking what he wants from an article? Say it ain't so.