Analysis Of Joining Military Doesn T Make You A Hero

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Not every Soldier is a Hero. Where are the heroes of today? If you watch the news or TV, surf current events on the web, or listen to the radio you are bombarded by opinion editorials, news stories and even advertising saying the one place you can surely find heroes, or be one yourself, is in the United States Military. These messages intensify every Veterans Day, Memorial Day or 4th of July as politicians, news agencies, businesses, magazines and television go on and on about our military heroes. Is this true? Can you simply sign your name to a contract, don a uniform and instantly qualify as a hero? Steven Kinzer, writer for the Boston Globe, doesn’t think so, and I agree. Steven believes it’s time for us to start acting more selective …show more content…

We need to stop diluting certain definitions to make our country feel good about it self. Steven explains “One reason Americans have come to view soldiers as our only protectors is that we have accepted the idea that our country is under permanent threat from fanatics who want to kill us and destroy our way of life” (Kinzer). Furthermore, if we look back on history, we can see this was not always the case. Steven explains during other times of uncertainty, like during the Cold War or Vietnam War, the people felt differently towards the soldiers. (Kinzer). I feel Kinzer has hit on an attitude that needs illumination so we can see more clearly. While Steve talks about definitely honoring soldiers who’ve performed above and beyond, he fails to discuss some basic ideas that support his position. One of the points he should have addressed is training. 100 percent of military members have some form of combat training. The more likely they are to be in combat, the more combat oriented training they receive. So with this in mind, what is more extraordinary? Someone trained in combat tactics performing their duties in a combat environment, or individuals who find themselves in a chaotic situation that is completely outside their norm, and then perform some extraordinary feat? Doing your job as trained, to me, doesn’t fit the definition of

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