I'm glad this is finally getting out there, "Civilians must do better than just repeating Thank You for Your Service." As a Vet I've long hated this phrase. While the sentiment may be genuine, it feels little different than if someone were to "Bless Me" when I sneeze. Perfunctory at best, even if heartfelt.
I'm glad this is finally getting out there, "Civilians must do better than just repeating Thank You for Your Service." As a Vet I've long hated this phrase. While the sentiment may be genuine, it feels little different than if someone were to "Bless Me" when I sneeze. Perfunctory at best, even if heartfelt.
I'm not sure. And I'm not sure anything is needed. To some extent "Thanks for Your Service" feels like a leftover of the "false guilt" everyone was supposed to feel over the treatment of Vets returning from Vietnam. It is true not all Vets were welcomed home from Vietnam with societal love (as opposed to the familial and fraternal love they did receive). It's false that they were spit on or (as my uncle likes to tell me) had dog crap thrown at them.
The other response I have is a little more difficult to articulate - though Will Selber almost gets there. If you want to "Thank me for my Service," then "Serve." In some way, shape, or fashion, serve the country. Military, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps - it really doesn't matter. I think the "Thank you for Yor Service" is, on one hand a way to individually give appreciation to what (if anything) we have done, but on the other hand, a way for people to feel "let off the hook," from not serving because our service is somehow "extraordinary."
True, it's been over 80 years since the entire country mobilized to fight in WWII, but up until recently (the Boomer generation) it wasn't rare to find men (and to a lesser extent women) who had served due to the draft, or active or reserve enlistment. Those of us with military service weren't so rare in the population.
One of the reasons we spent 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan was due to the fact that there were so few American families clamoring for the return of their sons and daughters. The American public was able to have an impact on ending our participation in Vietnam because the threads of that participation ran throughout society. The all volunteer Military has severed that link.
You, "Thank us for Our Service," because military service is now special and rare. It isn't. Moreover, it shouldn't be.
I'm glad this is finally getting out there, "Civilians must do better than just repeating Thank You for Your Service." As a Vet I've long hated this phrase. While the sentiment may be genuine, it feels little different than if someone were to "Bless Me" when I sneeze. Perfunctory at best, even if heartfelt.
I'm not sure. And I'm not sure anything is needed. To some extent "Thanks for Your Service" feels like a leftover of the "false guilt" everyone was supposed to feel over the treatment of Vets returning from Vietnam. It is true not all Vets were welcomed home from Vietnam with societal love (as opposed to the familial and fraternal love they did receive). It's false that they were spit on or (as my uncle likes to tell me) had dog crap thrown at them.
The other response I have is a little more difficult to articulate - though Will Selber almost gets there. If you want to "Thank me for my Service," then "Serve." In some way, shape, or fashion, serve the country. Military, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps - it really doesn't matter. I think the "Thank you for Yor Service" is, on one hand a way to individually give appreciation to what (if anything) we have done, but on the other hand, a way for people to feel "let off the hook," from not serving because our service is somehow "extraordinary."
True, it's been over 80 years since the entire country mobilized to fight in WWII, but up until recently (the Boomer generation) it wasn't rare to find men (and to a lesser extent women) who had served due to the draft, or active or reserve enlistment. Those of us with military service weren't so rare in the population.
One of the reasons we spent 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan was due to the fact that there were so few American families clamoring for the return of their sons and daughters. The American public was able to have an impact on ending our participation in Vietnam because the threads of that participation ran throughout society. The all volunteer Military has severed that link.
You, "Thank us for Our Service," because military service is now special and rare. It isn't. Moreover, it shouldn't be.