[talldatethrow]

Dropping a bomb technically doesn't make you a hero, and that's why Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump are not considered heros.

Signing up at 18 years old to go fight in a foreign country after just a couple hundred hours of training, does make you a hero compared to those that sit at home their whole lives and do nothing to help maintain society. If heros that go into the military didn't exist, I'd be speaking German or would have never come into existence because my relatives would be dead.

[andrewinardeer]

I disagree that voluntarily signing up for active military service automatically creates a hero. Even when "compared to those that sit at home their whole lives and do nothing to help maintain society".

Signing up for military service can be described as "heroic" or "honourable" at best.

[ImPostingOnHN]

Claiming that everyone who didn't sign up to kill people thousands of miles away from their society, were just "sitting at home their whole lives doing nothing to help maintain society", seems a bit dismissive.

To avoid a flame war, I won't explicitly say they do more for society than iraq war volunteers, but teachers and doctors do plenty for society, for example.

[talldatethrow]

Most teachers I know, and I know several because I've been in a relationship with one for a while now, are basically doing a disservice to children. I hear their stories and all I can think is "you shouldn't be a teacher, you're hurting these kids chance at learning".

Even the girl I'm dating sounds like a terrible teacher but what am I supposed to do about that. Not everyone can be good at their job. There is basically zero process to remove the bottom few % of teachers no matter how bad they are.

[ImPostingOnHN]

Funny, in my experience many people think the same thing of those who espouse the 'societal value' of volunteering to kill people in iraq, especially over society-benefitting professions like teaching and medicine.

[talldatethrow]

I don't deny there are good teachers, I was lucky enough to have a few.

I'm just saying that there is a decent amount of teachers that are doing a disservice to kids by not getting out of the way and letting the good teachers have a shot. But hey, she wants a Tesla and there's a union, so Johny must suffer.

[ImPostingOnHN]

I'm not necessarily denying that there are good people who chose to go kill people in iraq, I'm lucky enough to know a few. Many were brainwashed into thinking their choice would be heroic, perhaps some sort of revenge for 9/11, or a mission to find WMDs, instead of a cost to their country.

I'm just saying there are a decent amount of soldiers who aren't providing more of a value to society than those who chose to go into teaching and medicine (you keep conveniently leaving medicine out. Curious.) Especially when you consider what their presence in iraq cost society.

But hey, Cletus wants to shoot guns! Pew pew! So little Johnny must suffer reduced education to fund Cletus's overseas armed escapades.

[talldatethrow]

If you want to be educated, you can do it it home.. probably better than listening to average public school teachers. If you want the world to be safe, thats pretty hard to do from home. So I believe the soldier is giving you something you couldn't get without him... Safety.

[enterprise_cog]

Something tells me you have no clue how to teach.

[talldatethrow]

I have 16 years of experience being taught to, at a high level and succeeding at it. My GF has 5 years of experience teaching, and being totally oblivious to her performance.

She showed me her kindle recently. Proud she had read 37 books on it in 2 years. All fiction. Zero books about children or teaching. Wonders why she loses control of every classroom after about 3 months and suffers til the end of the school year.

[enterprise_cog]

I have experience being operated on, therefore I am a surgeon.

You also realize she has had the same amount of “being taught to” right?

Your disdain for your GF is pretty sad too.

[talldatethrow]

She was taught to as long as I was, but she was a poor student so I assume she didn't pay much attention to her teachers nor the coursework.

Hey, even the worlds worst teacher has a bf or a husband. Is he supposed to think she's amazing just because he enjoys spending time with her doing other things?

[enterprise_cog]

Signing up to fight wars of imperialism to benefit the few does not make you a hero. Killing civilians doesn’t make you a hero.

However, you are right that without the brave soldiers of the USSR you might be speaking German. Or not, it’s pointless conjecture.