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Not sure, I've wondered this myself. At a certain level, there's the fact that the US is simply a very patriotic place. Similarly, in Russia it's also not socia

Not sure, I've wondered this myself. At a certain level, there's the fact that the US is simply a very patriotic place. Similarly, in Russia it's also not socially accepted to publicly criticize military service members. That said, there are many other "patriotic" countries in the world, and not all of them impose this social reverence on the military, so some other factor is at play. Common knowledge says that the US was probably not always like this. I'm not old enough to remember the Vietnam era, but the stereotype goes that returning soldiers / military were treated with disdain by the civilian population. I have to admit I've wondered at how widespread this mistreatment was, but it is probably safe to say that the military of the time didn't enjoy all the unequivocal support, standing ovations and endless TYFYS that permeate American culture these days. I do know that after 9/11 and at the outset of the GWOT it was universally taboo to do anything but loudly praise the military. Where this sentiment came from, how it was disseminated, why it persists to this day : all are frankly mysteries to me. It didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now.

mmjaa 9y ago
The US has been at war, somewhere in the world, since its inception as a nation. It has dropped one bomb every twenty minutes, mostly on innocent people, for the last 3 decades. The US currently has the world ensnared in its remote military bases, and is a number one cause of trouble in the world. It regularly defeats real democracies using covert means, installing its own puppets to function as feudal lords. When covert means fail, the USA goes overt - and has practiced and refined its presentation of these actions such that the rest of the world is helpless to do anything about it. Nobody wants to believe it, but the USA is a wholesale exporter of death, destruction and mayhem. Yet, the American people are ignorant of all of this, because of the luxuries afforded them by their state. Until we deal with the decadence problem, we will not be able to deal with the militarism.
- angersock 9y ago
  What you say may be true...but it has worked out pretty well for us.
  - mmjaa 9y ago
    For some of you. For a majority of Americans, however, living in poverty - not so. Its very much an imperialist scenario. Sure, you have your bread and circuses. But don't look behind the curtain in any of your major metropolitan cities. The sight of 80,000 people, families, living on the streets in LA won't make you proud.

mmjaa 9y ago

The US has been at war, somewhere in the world, since its inception as a nation. It has dropped one bomb every twenty minutes, mostly on innocent people, for the last 3 decades. The US currently has the world ensnared in its remote military bases, and is a number one cause of trouble in the world. It regularly defeats real democracies using covert means, installing its own puppets to function as feudal lords. When covert means fail, the USA goes overt - and has practiced and refined its presentation of these actions such that the rest of the world is helpless to do anything about it. Nobody wants to believe it, but the USA is a wholesale exporter of death, destruction and mayhem. Yet, the American people are ignorant of all of this, because of the luxuries afforded them by their state. Until we deal with the decadence problem, we will not be able to deal with the militarism.

angersock 9y ago
What you say may be true...but it has worked out pretty well for us.
- mmjaa 9y ago
  For some of you. For a majority of Americans, however, living in poverty - not so. Its very much an imperialist scenario. Sure, you have your bread and circuses. But don't look behind the curtain in any of your major metropolitan cities. The sight of 80,000 people, families, living on the streets in LA won't make you proud.