What Does It Mean to Serve Your Country?

Published on January 5, 2007 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

One of the things I enjoy about this site is that there are a lot of military personnel and their families who blog here. Being part of the JU community has given me an "inside look" at some of the aspects of this war that the mainstream media will almost certainly never, ever cover.

But one of the consequences of that has been certain ill advised, negative posts that quantify someone's service. Specifically, soldiers who like to frag military brass anonymously with their posts because somehow if you don't drive a Humvee or stand at the giving end of an assault rifle, you just don't measure up. Putting aside the fact that any asshat who has the time to troll the forums to take on brass they would never have the cajones to confront in real life has it a darn sight better than most generations of military before them, I have strong issues with this mentality.

Let me be absolutely blunt: I did not serve in the military. If for some reason I was forced to do so or compelled to do so, I would almost certainly attempt to serve in a noncombat role. I have moral objections to the taking of a human life, and no military draft will erase those feelings. But I have served, I will continue to serve, and I will contest anyone who says I did not.

There are as many ways to serve your country as there are people. Sure, we see the military out there fighting for our country. But for every face we see, there are millions who do not. Those military personnel need equipment. What of the people who manufacture parts, weapons, clothing, and food (yes, we apologize for that. But come on, the standard of MRE's has improved SOMEWHAT over the years, has it not?)? Those people serve their country in as real and as meaningful a way as the soldiers overseas. What of the politicians who work (arguably) to preserve the Constitution of this country? Do they not serve their country as well? And what of all of the individuals who work to preserve the standard of living? We certainly serve. As tech support personnel for an ISP, I know that I keep a line of communication open between soldiers serving overseas and their families that wasn't possible in years past...a line of communication that certainly helps morale.

World War II was won by sheer strength of will. Ordinary citizens were encouraged to do their part to help the war effort. Everyone from the factory worker to the schoolchild was enlisted to help. Families planted Victory Gardens to help reduce the demand on the market for food products. And nobody's accomplishments were deemed more worthy than another's.

Over my life, I have actively participated in over a dozen campaigns, one as a candidate. I have worked as a firefighter, a political lobbyist and a miner, among many other occupations. I have paid my taxes, volunteered my time, and given to various charities. All of those contributions have served my country in one way or another. And all of them are as important to my country and my community as the efforts of a soldier who serves overseas.

I will never disrespect our soldiers for their sacrifices, even if I disagree with many policies of this administration. But in return, I ask that those soldiers not disrespect me for my service as a civilian. Yes, your families never know when you will return home. But even the life of a civilian is not without risk. I assure you my wife was filled with just as much anxiety when a miner was pulled from the stope of a mine following a rockfall in the mine I was working and airlifted to UMC in Las Vegas, because HIPPA laws prevented the mine from revealing the name of the accident victim, and we were not allowed to call out until procedures had been followed. I can also assure you that my wife was filled with anxiety in the March 13th wildfire when word got back to the evacuated families (yes, our community was evacuated) that one of our trucks had rolled and that three of our firefighters were being treated at the local hospital. And there will be many other times, I assure you, when my wife will have cause to worry.

Don't get me wrong, I am proud of your service. I am grateful for your service, and I'm anxious for ALL of you to come home. But don't EVER assume that I, or anyone else, for that matter, has served less. Because you simply do not KNOW.

Comments (Page 2)

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 06, 2007

I can't imagine who would try to diss you for not having been on active duty Gideon. Now that the folks have to register to troll, there should be a lot less of that.

No, it was a spinoff. I do get the "you didn't serve, so you have no right to have an opinion on the war" quite a bit, but what really raised my hackles was the attack on HW by some anonymous troll who felt that HW's service was less substantial than his. And it got me thinking about the "I didn't serve" guilt that's so readily handed out to those in the civilian sector.

I guarantee you the last thing the US military would want is Gid at the end of a gun. While there are other ways to serve, It's unlikely that I would pass a physical to even get that opportunity (I'm quite sure my computer skills themselves could be a valid contribution). I don't feel I should ever have to feel ashamed, or somewhat less of a man because I didn't serve in the military. Because I've served my country far more than most, in various ways.

But I will also suggest that those non-military life-or-death, self-sacrificing for the good of others type careers are not "civilian" (and that not all military careers require that same self-sacrifice that I feel sets a Soldier apart from an accountant or teacher or nurse or other honest, honorable, necessary taxpaying citizen).

Brandie,

I partly agree with you. But only partly. Here's why.

See, first of all being a soldier does not automatically confer a special status on anyone. Yes, there are soldiers who serve honorably, and I hope that's true of most of our soldiers (I assume it is). But there are soldiers whose service is NOT honorable, who do not deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments. The military does try to weed them out, but they do exist nonetheless.

Second, because soldiers would not be able to do what they do without civilians, it is important to note the contributions of civilians. World War II would not have been won without MASSIVE contributions from the civilian sector. We all do what we can do, and what matters is how we serve in any capacity more than how we serve in a specific capacity.

I respect that you don't categorize firefighters, etc, as civilians, but I can think of countless individuals who cannot even serve in that capacity whose service to their country puts to shame just about every soldier or firefighter I can think of. Individuals who have given of their time to their communities, and who have left the world a better place than they found it. It seems to me a waste to extoll the virtues of one area of service over another, when we would not be where we are without the service of a LOT of people in a LOT of areas.

In the field I work in, for instance, I would not think it wrong to say that many lives have probably been saved. Because of the increase in reliability of communications (not that you can tell when the customers are calling in all night long, but I digress), not only have our soldiers been able to receive better intel, but they've been better able to communicate with their families, and 911 personnel have been better equipped with directions and pertinent information that can more efficiently enable them to do their jobs. I would say that computers are as essential to today's military as are the weapons and other gear.

What I was responding to specifically was the attack on HW by some random moronic soldier that felt HW's service as an officer was somehow less than his. It was insulting (and beautifully defended, both by HW and lifehappens), and it got me to thinking about how much of others' contributions we dismiss. Feel proud of the military all you want, but don't ever dismiss the contributions of civilians...some of which have made the military a tad more tolerable for those who serve,

You see sir, Ms. Jennifer is correct. You are doing your part. You work hard and pay your taxes. You are not a drain on society. It does not matter if you are for or against the war on terror, or for or against the fighting in Iraq or for or against the president and his policies. If you are an American you are doing your part. If you are a Btit you are a valued friend and your sacrifice is noted by Americans. Please understand that the people that truly get it

Paladin,

Frankly, I took offense to your response, especially since you called me a crybaby, then proceeded to RESTATE THE VERY POINT I WAS MAKING! You're not going to get anywhere with name calling and personal attacks, and if it continues, you're not going to find yourselves being able to respond on my blogs. Got it?

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 06, 2007

Paladin,

I don't know why you decided to make your asshole attitude the basis for a personal attack, but since you decided to parade your contemptuous attitude on your own blog, good riddance. If JU would let me delete your comment, I'd be putting it into the garbage bin where it belongs. Better thank JU admin for that feature being unavailable so you can advertise your blog on my replies.

kingbee

on Jan 06, 2007

I guarantee you the last thing the US military would want is Gid at the end of a gun

after completing the rest of my draft physical, i was was ushered into the office of a marine captain for an additional interview. upon being asked what i intended to do should i be ordered to report for induction and somehow found myself complying with that order, i said almost exactly the same thing about myself, adding 'nor would i want to be the person commanding me once i was armed and trained.'

he looked at me very intently for a moment or two before nodding his head and signing a form, handing it to me and instructing me where to deliver it and the rest of the stuff i'd been accumulating and carrying with me throughout the process.

apparently he believed me.

within minutes i was walking outta the venerable downtown chicago 'fort' having decided to pass on the free lunch. shortly thereafter i received notifcation i'd been reclassified as eligible for service only in time of war or national emergency.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 07, 2007

I have to admit, kingbee, that I'm almost dismayed I never had to report to a draft board...I was quite looking forward to singing a couple of bars of "Alice's Restaurant" for the board.

Ahhh, well, I'll just have to make sure my CHILDREN stay properly corrupted. There will always be a business in sending kids off to die, sadly enough.

Texas Wahine

on Jan 07, 2007

I was quite looking forward to singing a couple of bars of "Alice's Restaurant" for the board.

I heard that song for the first time in mid-November when Adrian was home on leave. We listened to the whole song, the entire time thinking, "What the hell?"

So weird.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 07, 2007

So weird.

LOL...yeah, Arlo's a piece of work. I've enjoyed listening to him do more mainstream stuff as the years progress.

BTW, totally off topic, but did you see the Dateline episode on the Harvesters from a week ago? It was all the rage in these parts (for obvious reasons...lol!)

Texas Wahine

on Jan 07, 2007

Yep, I sure did. I don't usually watch Dateline, but for some reason I checked it out and was completely surprised by the subject matter. It was too boring to sit through (blasphemy, I know!), but I figured it was going to be a big deal over there.

kingbee

on Jan 07, 2007

I heard that song for the first time in mid-November when Adrian was home on leave. We listened to the whole song, the entire time thinking, "What the hell?"

wanna know what's a whole galaxy weirder? a major studio released a full-on hollywood pro-duct-shun motion pitchur filmed in panavision an cinemascope with dual-channel stereophonic sound sorta pseudo-, semi-, quasi-, loosely-based on the events recounted in lil arlo's song--complete with re-enacted performances by a some of the actual participants. i'm sure you can rent it cuz it's shown up in the premium channel cable rotation a couple times in the past year.

they messed around and tossed in a buncha gratuitous drama, drug abuse and some free love n stuff. they also scripted in an opportunity for arlo to visit with woodie in that hospital in new jersey. to the best of my knowledge it was woodie's first and only appearance on the big screen.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 07, 2007

Just as an FYI (I've never seen the movie; I had to pull the info from imdb), that wasn't actually Woody in the film. The film was made in 1969, Woody passed in 1967.

But imdb DID pull one acting bit for Woody, an uncredited bit back in the '40's. I'll have to see if I can scare it up.

Sean Conners aka SConn1

on Jan 07, 2007

Those issues are enhanced everytime a prominent journalist or politician suggests the reinstatement of a military draft, based on the premise that I and others have not done our duty if we didn't serve. It's insulting, it's condescending, and it's downright wrong.

i'm sorry, i just don't see that as being the point of bringing up the draft. if you take it as a personal insult, than that is your perrogative.

what i hear when the draft is brought up is that it is only brought up to point out that 90%+ of our nation's families don't have any relatives in the war. what they are trying to make a point of is that if there was a draft (one where the former "loopholes" were eliminated) then people might think harder before sending THEIR kids to war. i don't take that personally as far as what i have done with my life and for the record, i aced the ASVAB and failed the hearing test by a smidge during the reagan admin, thus was not allowed to serve. the recruiter told me that if i had applied a month before then my hearing test score would have passed. but reagan was trying to cut down troop levels and they could quietly do that by raising the physical standards.

the phrase "to serve your country" is just shortening the phrase "to serve your country in the military." that does not imply that there are not other ways to serve. it's just a phrase that has gotten shorter because everyone knows what you are talking about when someone says "serve your country." someone who holds office or works for the government is considered to be "in public service." many police cars have phrases like "to protect and serve" right on the car. etc, etc....

Ziggystyles

on Jan 07, 2007

I think there are many ways to serve a country. When I think of that line..."Serving my country" I often immediately think of soldiers on the front line. But they are not the only ones out there. My former Step brother is a Captain of some sorts in the US Army and has been to Afghanistan, Iraq and now will be headed off somewhere (forgot where) this week if he is still on schedule. He helps set up communications equipment. thats a big thing. Sure, his life may not be on the line as much as those on the front line...but with out people like him backing them up..theyd be screwed.

Im a civilian and I work for the government as a teacher and I think of that, in a sense as serving my country. I get to go to work every day and help teach the history of our country to children.

Not understanding what I wrote makes sense if you don’t understand what an immigrant sees as a tremendous obligation to his adopted nation. He made millions on the patents through the years yet he and his wife in their 60’s still go to work every day to help this nation they were not born in. It is their way of paying us back for allowing them to live free. Yet he still wishes to do more. Only people not born in America think this way about America. It brings tears to my eyes to see that people born in America don’t see how good they have it.

Lol...only people born in this country don't understand a work ethic and feel obligated to retire at the age of 55 no matter what. People from all other countries don't feel obligated to work for us to repay for their freedom. They work because they can. That man who worked came from a country where everyone works all day. They werent trying to help, but they wanted to continue working. Ever go to a Asian factory? They have workers doing exercises and working together to make a better product. Hence the reason why they end up being more productive workers...working together. All our workforce wants is higher pay and more insurance...never hear them talk in union negotiations about making a better product in the end. Just because you are in America doesnt mean you have it good OR better than you had it in any other country. Just depends on what you think is good. Most of the world hates us...I don't really consider that a good thing.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 08, 2007

Most of the world hates us...

Riggggghhhttt, ziggy. That's why we have problems with illegal immigrants. They hate us so badly they can't wait to get here.

Don't believe everything you hear on CNN!

Ziggystyles

on Jan 08, 2007

Riggggghhhttt, ziggy. That's why we have problems with illegal immigrants. They hate us so badly they can't wait to get here.

Didnt say I was watching or listening to CNN. Just because we have a bunch of illegal mexican immigrants doesnt mean we are a country people like. They dont come into the US because they like us...they come because they have an opportunity to earn money. Many of them end up sending that money back to families in Mexico or save it with hopes of returning to Mexico some day in the future. They only come here when there is no other option. Where we work here in Wyoming...this is the case (I know this because I see it as a teacher and hear about it alot from fellow parents, coworkers, and students).

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 08, 2007

Just because we have a bunch of illegal mexican immigrants doesnt mean we are a country people like.

OK, why did I know this was going to be your response?

Here's the kicker, ziggy. Not all of the illegals are Mexicans. Again, this is a portrait that's been painted that is not necessarily true. There are illegals from all over the globe.

As a matter of fact, many of the "Mexican" illegal immigrants aren't even Mexican. They're Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, Colombian, all flavors of Latin America. They state that they are "Mexican" so that when they are deported, it is to Mexico and they don't have so far to come back.

They only come here when there is no other option.

That's why so many of them have been here 20 + years? One of the problem with the illegal immigration issue is that so many of them have been here so long. They've raised families here...bought houses here...that's why our government is so reluctant to deport them.

Almost every "fact" you quoted about illegal immigrants, or about most of the world hating us, was stereotypical myths, ziggy. I am assuming you would hold your students to a higher standard than this, therefore, I MUST hold you to a higher standard. All of these are popular held beliefs, but none of them are facts, according to some pretty reliable numbers.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 08, 2007

On the issue of not all being Mexicans, just so I'm not accused of pulling statistics out of my ass:

The Pew Hispanic Center state that 57% of illegal aliens are of Mexican origin and about 75% are of Latin American origin [16]. They also report that while the number of legal immigrants (including LPRs, refugees, and asylees) arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal aliens has increased dramatically and, since the mid 1990s, has surpassed the number of legal immigrants. [17]

This from the Wikipedia article, but it does cite a credible source. 57% are of Mexican origin (and even that 57% can be challenged for the reasons I cited in my last response). That means that 43% aren't. And that 25% aren't of Latin American origin.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!