I'm Gonna Get A Lotta Support For This One

Prolly A Lotta Crap Too

Published on November 21, 2005 By kingbee In Misc

i'm gonna find a lotta support for this article because instead of stepping on anyone's toes or diminishing any illusions about those who serve or have served in the military, i'm gonna simply offer two rather simple arguments: 1. in general, experience trumps theory....2. there's a reason why people pay professionals to profess their professions.

i couldn't have been more shocked by the revelation military service doesn't automatically transform ordinary human beings into sainted heroes. until ted pointed this out to me Link all you hadda do was tell me you were a vet or show me your 'semper fi' tattoo, and i woulda happily revealed to you my innermost thoughts and desires as well as my social security and pin #s.

fortunately ted didn't entirely demolish my illusions. even he grudgingly admits military service doesn't necessarily work to the detriment of a political candidate (assuming both contestants in an election were precisely equal in all other respects). at the same time, being drummed outta the military doesn't make one a bad person; it's more like evidence they simply can't follow orders as well as others...or perhaps they just don't have a more open minded attitude when it comes to fulfilling an obligation. .

i also gotta apologize for my ignorance and naivete. i'd never known, totally forgotten or stubbornly refused to believe those rumors about the angels' founders benedict arnold, palace coups, juntas, people who go awol and that whole family of navy guys who ran 'spies r us' .

i'm writing this now because thanks to ted's revelations, i now suspect him of trying to mislead us (he is, after all, a vet which means it may not be intentional so much as something he can't resist). when he says:

I bring all this up because I keep reading and hearing people use "But he's a veteran", or "She's a service member" as evidence of a person's honesty, integrity or honor. Should we hold a soft spot in our hearts for our service members and vets? Absolutely!!!! However, we also should be real.

it seems to me he's either missing or ignoring the reason WHY he keeps reading and hearing people raise the issue. it's NOT because of honesty, integrity or honor (good thing, as he's so clearly revealed).

it's all about the same reason why most of us prefer being treated by mds rather than witchdoctors when we're ill...or be represented in legal matters by people who've passed the state bar rather than those who do all their arguing in front of the bar down the block.

when we as a nation find ourselves forced to make the awful decision to put american lives in harm's way, we'd prefer those who make that choice have some direct knowledge of all the implications and consequences rather than put it in the hands of others who only think they know what its all about.

at risk of trivializing this, a&e--the cable channel--has been broadcasting a reality show called 'who's the boss' or something similarly silly in which a camera crew follows the ceo of a company as he or she attempts to perform all the tasks required of those employees working under him. invariably, the subject has an epiphany or two while learning exactly what's involved in cleaning 14 rooms per shift or washing dishes for 7.5 hours a day.

would that we could have put cheney, wolfowitz, perle, fieth, etc.--those who so cavalierly clamored for a war they had no idea how to fight--through the same process. or, more accurately, would that they weren't quite so successful in avoiding the experience they're now so quick to diminish.

i'm not for a second claiming that military service--or even heroism under fire--automatically endows anyone with a special gift for devising strategy and tactics or, for that matter, any other worthy attribute. i'm not saying only those with military backgrounds are qualified to decide if, when, where, how and why we should go to war.

on the other hand, i am pretty much convinced it's a horrible mistake to trust those matters to a buncha middle-aged academics who never spent a day in uniform and are very likely haunted by memories of miserable childhoods in which they were inevitably the first casualties in every game of war in which the neighbor kids reluctantly allowed them to join.

one more thing. ted concludes by opining:

Heroism is an event specific situation. So is cowardice. Can a person be both? Yes, and I would submit that while a coward may never have a moment of heroism, I would bet that every hero has known more than a few moments of cowardice.

until reading that, i gotta admit i put a much higher premium on heroism.

i couldn't comprehend why those civilians who died on 911 were considered 'heroes' or why their families received such lavishly generous payments in comparison to those bestowed upon soldiers who die in battle.

now i realize my error.

unlike congressman murtha and senators kerry, mccain, etc., we can be sure those who perished in the wtc attacks will never tarnish their moment of heroism with any subsequent acts of cowardice.

Comments

singrdave

on Nov 21, 2005

Great article, King.
Speaking for me (and who else am I qualified to speak for?), I don't feel sainted or even superior to anyone for having served in the Army. Vets do have a perspective, though, that someone who hasn't been lacks. Obviously, that is a life experience, and life experiences can be shared through stories but not vicariously lived.
I never went to Iraq. Does that put OIF soldiers higher in the 'food chain' than I am? Again it's about life experience.

You know, I became an ex-Army so recently that it's still weird to call myself a vet.

kingbee

on Nov 21, 2005

Vets do have a perspective, though, that someone who hasn't been lacks. Obviously, that is a life experience, and life experiences can be shared through stories but not vicariously lived.
I never went to Iraq. Does that put OIF soldiers higher in the 'food chain' than I am? Again it's about life experience.

as nuts as this might sound, i've long felt one of the major reasons the cold war remained cold was there were so many combat veterans of wwii in power on both sides.

ParaTed2k

on Nov 21, 2005

Thanks for the credit, the laugh, and your points here Kingbee!!

I do agree with your point that people who have "been there, done that" do have an insight into things that those who haven't lack. However, the job of President is that of an administrator, and as you saw from that TV show, administrators are at there best while administrating...

I'll use myself as an example. I am a vet, I was an NCO and according to me and my NCO Evaluations I was an above average NCO. I've been through war, though I didn't fight in combat.

Now, if I ran for office, yes, I would include my Vet status, but I wouldn't wrap my campaign around it. The fact is, while it is a resume enhancer, it doesn't really mean that I would be very good at running a war. In fact, I doubt any military experience short of General Officer would.

I can plan an operation, figure the logisitics required, make my recommendations based on the plan, prepare troops and equipment for the plan, and see that my unit's part of the plan is carried out. However, I'll be the first to admit that no part of my experience, training, or (to tell you the truth) interests include theater wide operation doctrine and planning.

Would that mean I'd make a terrible president? NO. Would that mean I'd make an awesome president.. NO. It would mean that (knowing my weakness in the area), I would tend to turn to the members of my staff whose job it is to do such things... um, which is why we have a "Joint Chiefs" in the first place.

You see, the founding Fathers were pretty smart. First of all, they were smart enough to make the Commander In Chief a civilian, to preclude all those pesky military coups that other nations seem bothered by. Another way they were smart was, they knew that not every president was going to be a Washinton.

They knew that no one person can be an expert in all the things that a president must make decisions on. So, being smart folks, they created a governmental system where the president had plenty of folks he could turn to to make most of those decisions. They were also smart enough to force the president to run most of those decisions through Congress before they could actually be put into law.

So, you see, experience is a great thing, and should be looked at when casting our vote. On the other hand, since being Commander In Chief is but one of the responsibilities of a President, does it make sense to make vet status any more important than all the other hats the president wears?

This vet says... no

Again, thanks for the laughs, and the credit. :~D

Gene Nash

on Nov 21, 2005

as nuts as this might sound, i've long felt one of the major reasons the cold war remained cold was there were so many combat veterans of wwii in power on both sides.

If the insightful button was working for me, you'd get an insightful for that. (I tried!)

now i realize my error.

unlike congressman murtha and senators kerry, mccain, etc., we can be sure those who perished in the wtc attacks will never tarnish their moment of heroism with any subsequent acts of cowardice.

Pow! Biff! Boom!

or be represented in legal matters by people who've passed the state bar rather than those who do all their arguing in front of the bar down the block.

Excellent juxtaposition.

Very good article, kb.

Slanderer

on Nov 21, 2005

Remember ol' Ariel Sharon was from a farming family and made his way to politcs through the military. I do not like the man but he is always a realist and I find those who actually did time in the military are realists.

So a true military man knows when the use of force is justified, when it is not, when it won't accomoplish a given task, and when to distance himself from ideology.

Take note because he is now forming a splinter group off of Lukid because what he wants to do won't fly with the supreme right. Now listen to those advocating war and see that they have never divorced themselves from their poltics and lived in the real world.

ParaTed2k

on Nov 21, 2005

unlike congressman murtha and senators kerry, mccain, etc., we can be sure those who perished in the wtc attacks will never tarnish their moment of heroism with any subsequent acts of cowardice.

I will add here though, you mistake victim with hero. Those who were working and just being in those buildings were victims of the terrorists; the people who stopped to help others get out rose from victim to hero; the emergency workers who went into the buildings were heroes... The terrorists themselves were cowards.

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