The people who gave their lives to fight for workers rights, civil rights, women's rights are heroes. We need to say this more often, and more publicly.

I may get in trouble for saying this, but I am going to do it. I have lived in the same small town for thirty-six years. I have been a public librarian and a teacher, so I have seen many kids grow up here. The military has been good for some of them. They have matured and become responsible. Some have made good careers, or gone on to other careers. Also, I work out in a nearby gym where many of the young members are former military or current members of the National Guard. On the whole, I respect what I am seeing.

But I have seen some real duds join the military too, because they did not know what else to do with themselves. I recall one kid who failed fifth grade three times. He simply did nothing but sit in his chair. He is in the army now. I am sorry, but he has not changed much. I buy him a cup of coffee if I see him, but I don't understand how he manages to stay in the army. He is not my hero, or anyone else's.

And the seeds of this go back a long way, even to Reagan, but they germinated in Gulf War 1 with the "support the troops" and the "thank you for your service" meme that they practically forced everyone to say.
The generation that is fighting this war grew up with that and know nothing else.
It is cult like...the worship of heroes.

. . . And I can certainly relate to Molloy's comment about how careful one needs to be about expressing this point of view. I have two nephews who served in the military, and two other nephews who are police officers. So there's a significant number of my family members for whom if I uttered such sentiments within earshot of them, it would be tantamount to starting WW III.

Epic Program!

they gave a war and nobody came?

K&R

It is designed to inculcate fealty and subservience to authority figures in a way that is more acceptable than cowering in fear. It's easier to control the population in this manner. Everyone's in agreement that we'll look away at the injustice. Like when Harry Calahan asks the serial killer cowering on the ground: ''Well, do you feel lucky, punk!''

So we hail them as heroes instead. Hopefully Harry won't ask me that question, we think.

- So they're our heroes whether we like them on not. And even when they sit in underground bunkers in comfy chairs playing video games with the lives of babies and their mothers all over Asia and the Middle East.

And killing innocence. Ours and theirs.

K&R