Does it really matter WHY?

Published on December 2, 2005 By dharmagrl In Current Events

*I'm fighting a stomach flu today, so if this is disjointed and doesn't flow well, please forgive me*

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days, about the kerfuffle over patriotism, honor and people's reasons for being in the service.

Does it really matter WHY people are in the service and are going off to war? Does it really make a difference to their service? Is being there out of a sense of self-interest any less worthy than being there for love of country or love of battle?

I don't think so. I think that service is service is service, regardless of the motivation. I think that ANY person in the US military is deserving of respect. Apparently I didn't make myself clear. Apparently I got caught up in semantics and either I missed the point, or other people missed MY point.....and then one person in particular felt like they knew my husband's reasons for being in the military better than I do, which really ticked me off.

So, for the record, it doesn't matter to me why people are there. What does matter is that they ARE there. They go, and they do....and people like me, we stay and we do. In our own way, we are in the service too. We just don't wear a uniform, get promoted or awarded medals.

Do I do this because I love America? No. I do it because the man I love has decided that this is the best way for him to live his life and support his family.

The reasons are irrelevant. The service isn't.

Comments (Page 1)

Trudygolightly

on Dec 02, 2005

good morning Dharmagirl

sorry you're abed with nasty flu! hope it runs it's course swiftly.

My son and I don't always agree on things, matter of fact we usually disagree on almost
everything.
However we agree we're proud of our country and military. Yesterday he came out of his room and
asked for help with putting a list together. He had a list and an address for troups in Iraqua and
we went to Wal-Mart yesterday, after I"d downed pain pills and he got personal care products, treats of
every kind, filled a really big box.

I concur with you, whatever the reason for being in the service thank God for the service men/women and
their families.

Dr Guy

on Dec 02, 2005

Hope you get better soon. And no, it does not matter why. That they honor their commitment is what is important, and they all are. That deserves respect for all of them in their actions. The intentions are secondary.

Locamama

on Dec 02, 2005

I agree. It doesn't matter why. Say you need brain surgery? Do you care if the doctor got into his profession for altruistic reasons such as to help people and make the world a better place? I don't care if he's only there for the money. I care that he is well trained, educated and qualified to operate on my brain.

There are many "helping" professions such as being a nurse or a policeman. That doesn't mean that these people would go to work for free. We're all working for a paycheck. Why should military personnel be any different.

ParaTed2k

on Dec 02, 2005

I think the discussion has been a good one, and from what I have read in the articles and comments I think it was even a necessary one.

After 9/11 we heard a lot of stuff about how the Firefighters, policemen and EMTs reminded us of what heroes really are. After propping up our sports, music, movie and television idols as "heroes" for so long, it took something like those attacks to show us how wrong we were.

Well, is it the members of Rush I think are great, or is it what they do? Coming back from Desert Storm, we first touched U.S. soil in Bangor, Maine. The airport was packed with thousands of people holding up signs and giving us treats. Kids asked us to autograph their shirts, stuffed animals and note pads... When we went down to Florida for Hurricane Andrew, there were neighborhoods where the victims came out cheering, hugging and cheering us for being there. During the more public incidents I was in on as a paramedic, we had people thanking us for being who we are....

It could have been very easy for us to take it all very personal and thought that those people were responding to us with it all. However, we knew that they were responding to what we were doing for them, not us ourselves. It was very personal as an expression of gratitude, but they didn't know us from Adam and Lillith. If we had have changed out of our uniforms and talked to them just 20 minutes later, I doubt most of them would even recognize their "heroes".

The reasons are irrelevant. The service isn't.

Exactly! Why I was on any of those operations or ambulance calls, the only thing that mattered was, the service was rendered. The fact that the people are helped by the service rendered is far more important than the reasons those rendering the service have for being there. I hope you get feeling better soon!!

DJBandit

on Dec 02, 2005

Does it really matter WHY people are in the service and are going off to war?

Not at all. As long as they do what they gotta do, everything else is just secondary.

and then one person in particular felt like they knew my husband's reasons for being in the military better than I do, which really ticked me off.

I wonder who that was, shame on him? DJBandit looks around and hopes no one remembers it was him.

The reasons are irrelevant. The service isn't.

DJBandit stands up and applauds

I just wanted to add that I believe that the service of our soldiers was never in doubt in those arguments on the other articles. People have the tendencies of associating the motives to the job and therefor draw conclusions as to whether they would except the services of that person because of the reasons for doing it.

Example:

I had a friend who was studying to be a nurse. We worked together during that time and we both got paid good money. He, however, was better at managing and saving his money than I was. Every time his education became conversation, he always pointed out the kind of money he would start off getting one he graduated and started working. I kept asking him if money was his only motivation for working in that field, he , without thinking twice, would say sure. That would make me worried to think that money would be a motivation, for anyone, to work in a job where peoples lives would be in your hands.

One sees on TV the passion that some, say, doctors or nurses have for their job and the results of their work, even when it's a loss, makes people more comfortable. And then you see what people are willing to do for money and that makes you uncomfortable. Aplying these ideas to everyday people and their jobs becomes commona and is considered bad PR to many. So that's why some may wonder why join the military if "doing it for your country" isn't part(keep this in mind) of the reason for joining.

This is just me but I wouldn't feel so safe if I knew that those who command me are only in it for their own benefit or I would have a hard time trusting my life to those soldiers (me being a soldier)with me if money was all that mattered to them. I mean, after all they would still get paid if I died. Like I said that's just me and I'm not talking about anyone in particular, just in general.

BTW, hope you get better or are already better by the time you read this. I feel you, got a stuffy nose myself and the air conditioner at work is not helping, but in my position I can't afford to lose days of work.

DJBandit

on Dec 02, 2005

Gosh I did it again, just can't keep it short the first time. Actually, the last time I kept it short on my first post on an article I was nearly beheaded by another fellow blogger for I don't know what yet.

bakerstreet

on Dec 02, 2005

"...and then one person in particular felt like they knew my husband's reasons for being in the military better than I do, which really ticked me off."

misrepresenting people is a shitty way to do things, dharma. I spend half the time in that discussion saying over and over that I did no such thing, and that I claimed no such thing. Each time you either ignored what I said, or claimed to understand what I meant, and then just moved somewhere else to claim I thought I knew more about your husband than you.

You wanna know why I compared you to dabe in all this? You just did it again. If you'd note I gave up saying anything about you or your husband a long time back, and all i've been doing is answering jab-posts like this since. Have we shifted to the "wounded marcie" school of blogging?

Best of luck with your flu.

Texas Wahine

on Dec 02, 2005

I don't think it matters why, obviously.

The idea that people in helpful or service careers must have some underlying motive that they themselves can't understand is silly.

The military offers certain opportunities for people who might not have those opportunities otherwise. You can join the military and become a doctor or a lawyer or take on a number of other careers that require a lot of money and training to enter. Heck, you can do a 3 or 4 year stint and train to do something medical or technological and then get come of out service qualified and experienced enough to get a very high paying job. For someone who has no way to pay for such training, it may be one of the only ways they can break a cycle of poverty.

Just because someone joined in order to get ahead in life, doesn't mean that they don't take their responsibilities seriously. It doesn't mean they will shirk their duties or only look out for number one...that's not how it works. Military service requires sacrifice and the very nature of the job requires that service members NOT use their rank or position or any sense of self preservation keep them from protecting others.

The job description doesn't changed based on a service member's motivation for joining. Whatever that motivation is, apparently the service member feels that it's worth the risk.

I don't think that makes heroic acts or faithful service any less noble, and it certainly doesn't diminish the positive impact of their service.

dharmagrl

on Dec 02, 2005

Jumping to conclusions is such a shitty thing to do, Baker. I wasn't talking about YOU....see DJ Bandit's response for further explanation.

I was, as DJ knows, talking about HIM. Not YOU. Do you feel kind of silly now?

You have the ability to absolutely infuriate me, you know that? You and my husband would probably do really well together because you're both insufferably self-righteous at times. You're both smart as hell and I have a lot of respect for you, but sometimes....you both get on my last nerve.

So, in case you didn't get it, and just so there's no confusion...I was NOT referring to you in this article. I was referring to DJ Bandit. He knows it, and he and I have already kissed and made up over it.

Happy now?

bakerstreet

on Dec 02, 2005

Do I feel silly? Well, yeah, but since you have in the past few days accused me of the same thing over and over, and over and over... and over... not as much as I would otherwise.

(the "wounded marcie" shoe still fits, though. Maybe another blog would clear things up... *cough*)

dharmagrl

on Dec 02, 2005

He had a list and an address for troups in Iraqua

That's a really lovely thing to do Trudy. I know thw guys over there appreciate all the treats that wonderful people like you and your son send them...it really means a lot to them.

That they honor their commitment is what is important,

Exactly. So what if the guy down the road from us honors his committment to the military because he loves the USA and everything it stands for? So what if my neighbor honors his committment simply because he can't afford NOT to? They're both doing the same thing....the outcome is the same, regardless of the motivation.

I don't care if he's only there for the money. I care that he is well trained, educated and qualified to operate on my brain.

Precisely.

Well said, dharma.
That entire argument was really retarded, lol.
Not the people arguing, mind you, just the argument itself.

Thanks. After I took a few steps back I realized it was pretty retarded too.

After 9/11 we heard a lot of stuff about how the Firefighters, policemen and EMTs reminded us of what heroes really are. After propping up our sports, music, movie and television idols as "heroes" for so long, it took something like those attacks to show us how wrong we were

Yeah, I had the same conversation with my mum. We think people who get paid millions of dollars to throw a ball around is a 'hero'...but they're not. The real heros are all around us, they're our friends and neighbors, our relatives and our public servants.

I wonder who that was, shame on him? DJBandit looks around and hopes no one remembers it was him.

hehehe...yeah. I owe you an apology for being so rude to you. I am sorry, I got worked up and bent out of shape, and I took it out on you. You're forgiven, btw.

Sorry you don't feel good. Where do you work at that you can't take a day off when you're ill?

So that's why some may wonder why join the military if "doing it for your country" isn't part(keep this in mind) of the reason for joining.

I understand that now. Being around the military 99.99% of the time can make a person blinkered.....I forget that most civilians don't know much about the information that i take for granted.

Just because someone joined in order to get ahead in life, doesn't mean that they don't take their responsibilities seriously

Sometimes those who joined to get ahead in life take their responsibilities more seriously than those who joined for other reasons....because they know just how much is riding on it.

dharmagrl

on Dec 02, 2005

Baker...arrghh! Never mind. I'm not going to bother.

dharmagrl

on Dec 02, 2005

Baker...arrghh! Never mind. I'm not going to bother.

MarcieMoo

on Dec 02, 2005

wounded marcie

STFU. What a narcisstic asshole. Get over it, Baker. Move on. I have. Why can't you?

MarcieMoo

on Dec 02, 2005

Sorry...double post...

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