One question about Reverence for the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns

[cthulu2016]

Does anyone think we are better at this stuff than North Korea? We are better at everything than North Korea with one exception—human indominability in military display.

Nobody should childishly trash our military. It happens and it is not pretty.

And it is important to honor our war veterans—even veterans of our bad wars. Perhaps even especially the veterans of our bad wars precisely because "theirs is not to reason why." I think someone should know that their our opinion of her service in an American war will not depend on how smart the Commander in Chief is, or how the conflict turns out.

But it is a Hell of a thing to hold up our sentimental military traditions, in particular, for the good they say about America, in particular. There is nothing contemptible about people standing guard at a tomb, but it isn't anything special about America.

America has a long history of going to war against precisely the nations that kick our ass at sentimental military tradition.

The Confederacy. The Kaiser’s Germany. Nazi Germany. Imperial Japan. Every one of those cultures was far, far, far superior to the USA in sentimental military display.

One of America’s best claims to greatness is that we are not, or were not, a military culture. Our founding fathers resisted it mightily. (Our mysterious 2nd Amendment is a tribute to the degree to which we did not want military centralization.)

Yes, to the men standing in the rain—God love ‘em. Carry on. And to the symbolic gesture that if you sacrifice your life in service of the interests of the state the state will honor you in perpetuity, yes. That’s a good thing.

And military tradition? In a world where a state needs a military then that military ought to be good at what it does and strive to be honorable.

But it is a necessary evil. Some folks don’t get the necessary part. Other folks don’t get the evil part.

If there was no practical need for a military, anyone wanting to start one merely for the institutional good it does a nation would be a crypto-fascist nut.

There is always someone to say that “men died to protect your freedom to criticize America.” This is senseless, even by bumper-sticker standards. Since at least 1812, no nation has tried to restrict American political speech. It has never, ever been an issue.

The greatest threat to the freedom of American political speech has always been domestic militarism. Only when the military has the upper hand in society, as in war-time, do we establish internment camps for American citizens, suspend Habeas Corpus, pass sedition laws and imprison political candidates for running on positions counter to those of the current government.

We are a nation about freedom. We are a nation with an exemplary military.

Each of those statements is true despite the other.

[Xipe Totec]

1. You Write With Flowers - Poem by Netzahualcoyotl

You write with flowers, Oh life maker,
with songs you give light,
with song you enshadow,
those who must live on the earth.

One day, you will destroy eagles and jaguars,
we only live in your book of paintings,
here on this earth.

With black ink you will erase
what was brotherhood,
community, and nobility.

You enshadow those who must live on the earth.

- Netzahualcoyotl, Aztec emperor

[slackmaster]

2. The big difference is that service in our military is voluntary

In North Korea, not so much.

[cthulu2016]

3. It wasn't for the Unknown Soldier

[SQUEE]

7. you dont know that.

He could have been a conscript or a lifer, he is unknown, so we have no idea which.

[cthulu2016]

9. You do realize the word "unknown" is symbolic of something

The actual unknown remains are representative of all the unknown dead.

So talking about who the unknown soldier is, except in symbolic terms, misses the point.

And the anonymous everyman soldier the Tomb of the Unknowns represents was, in the Civil War, WWI and WWII, likelier to be drafted than not.

It doesn't matter who is actually in the box. Those were draft intensive wars.

[slackmaster]

8. The Unknown from the Vietnam War is believed to be a graduate of the Air Force Academy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Blassie

[jenw2]

4. "no nation has tried to restrict American political speech"

Ummm, no. So you think the free speech zones are acceptable? Do you support saying there is no right to public dissent unless you're in a certain zone?

[cthulu2016]

5. No nation other than the USA, which the OP made pretty plain

[qkvhj]

10. Don't like that definition

I fully support free speech zones not as in restricting free speech to only those areas but in actively, openly, and loudly promoting free speech in those area. I do not believe that those who utilize these areas to state an opinion or attitude would stop when they leave. I think these areas promote free speech on an ongoing basis everywhere in life.

[SQUEE]

6. There are some that feel the military is a calling.

I tend to agree. Not everyone in the service has that opinion many see it as an opportunity for college, or as an escape from economic conditions on par with slavery. All of these are legitimate reasons to serve. I don't question my fellow soldiers, vets and active, on their reasons, but I do make a promise to each one to have their back, to honor their sacrifices up to and including the ultimate, no matter why they serve.

Part of the elan and very important esprit d' corps is a sense of shared history and what appears on the surface to be silly pageantry.
These honored traditions mean something to us, and to many others. They are fulfillments of a promise and are seen by many (myself included) to be an actual honor for those that have the oppurtunity to perform them.

[mrmpa]

11. My Dad is buried in a National Cemetery............

my Mother will be buried alongside him when she dies. The Flag flies 24/7, and I see it often when I drive by on the highway. My Dad was a volunteer in the Marine Corps. He served 15 years. He was a Korean War Vet, Chosin Reservoir survivor. The serenity in this cemetery is beyond belief. Men and women of different faiths and backgrounds buried together, as they served together. No questions asked about what they did or didn't do.

It's not a lot but it's what these men and women deserve. Peace in death, what they probably prayed for every night while serving, peace.