“We won our war, they didn’t, and from the looks of them, they couldn’t.”
by digby
Me at Mojo on military worship:
Earlier in the week the discussion was all about what defines a hero, and the question came up frequently about when we became so reverent toward military service. Now, it’s probably true that we’ve always had a special place for martial heroism, most societies do. But as one who grew up in a military family I can say that it’s changed a bit over the years in this country. Military service in the two World Wars and Korea was respected, but it was also the subject of satire and criticism to an extent that I honestly don’t think you could do today. There’s not even a Sergeant Bilko or Mister Roberts, much less scathing satire like Catch-22. (In fact, have we had even one great wartime novel emerge during our last 10 years of non-stop war?)
The question is why that would be, and I think the consensus is that it’s a response to the Vietnam Syndrome and the poor way that Vietnam vets were treated by civilians. President Obama referred to it himself in his speech the other day:
When the honourable service of the many should have been praised, you came home and sometimes were denigrated when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened.
He’s right about that. But I’m fairly sure that he and virtually everyone else has no idea who were among the worst perpetrators.
Let’s just say they didn’t wear tie-dye.
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