2 ms·
There are plenty of classes of non-American, and most Anglo-Saxon countries also venerate their troops. It's also a reflex to what happened after Vietnam, where
by peteretep 11y ago
There are plenty of classes of non-American, and most Anglo-Saxon countries also venerate their troops. It's also a reflex to what happened after Vietnam, where the veterans got an almost criminal level of under-appreciation, despite many being draftees.
- JabavuAdams 11y agoYeah, I understand why. It's still shocking to see / hear. I say this as an arm-chair war nerd. Nothing good can come from this level of military fetishism.
- peteretep 11y agoPerhaps. I'd argue it's not military fetishism though - there are no goose-stepping soldiers, missiles being wheeled through the streets, and so on. Closest they get in the UK is the Trooping of The Colour, which is a few centuries old, and hasn't caused a problem so far [citation needed — cf "Buzzfeed: The Three Countries the UK Didn't Invade?!"]. The focus appears to be on sacrifice and dulce et decorum est rather than on militeria.
- pjc50 11y agoI don't think troops are really venerated in the UK. This, after all, is what Kipling's "Tommy" was all about. http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_tommy.htm http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_tommy.htm There's some veneration in a distant way for the RAF following the war, and the Sun newspaper runs its own pro-military campaign, but it's not something that comes up too often in political language. "Poppy day" is becoming more politicised in worrying ways, though.