Speaking as someone who did military service; I agree that there's a fine line to walk between distain for the military in general and respect for individuals

Speaking as someone who did military service; I agree that there's a fine line to walk between distain for the military in general and respect for individuals who served. My distain is for the concept that "our military keeps us safe" (which contains a nugget of truth, but doesn't really explain why the US spends waaay more on military than the rest of the world combined.) To maintain this apparently vital expenditure it's necessary to engage in spurious proxy conflicts whenever possible. Have weapon. Use weapon. On the other hand I have respect for those who put their lives in danger, who are altered physically and/or mentally, or who get killed feeding this insatiable monster. I respect them in spite of the meaninglessness of the conflict that lead to such sacrifice. I usually get down-voted for expressing this anti-military stance, partly I suspect because any military demands unconditional support. In the sense that if you start asking the gard questions, they may lead to answers you don't like.