Jordy C wrote:
> George Dance wrote:
> > Jordy C wrote:
>
> > > What does that mean? No disrespect intended for those who are or have been in the military, I admire them even if I don’t respect the leaders who mistreat them by lying to them and putting in unnecessarily in harm’s way…. But the “serve their country” line which is often used here seems unnecessarily macho and reactionary and rigid, as if their is only method to be of service… ultimately and *ideally*, at any rate, country would equate to the PEOPLE in the country, the citizens and the IDEALS of the country, not the LEADERS or the GOVERNMENT of whom we must always speak truth to power… and even beyond THAT, let’s serve ALL people on this Earth planet, not JUST the people in the land that we reside in!
> > I think the idea is snobbish; why is it that only those who work for the military are referred to that way. Don't doctors "serve their country"? Don't farmers? Scientists? Inventors? Builders? Creators? Even we politicians, among the 90% who give the rest of us a bad name, there have been not a few statesmen. Don't statesmen serve their country more than anyone whose only job has been to fight and kill other people?
> agree with you absolutly! have been involved in a lot of volunteer work over the years, and believe that is serving... anything that we do that helps other people, whether we are being paid or volunteering is a good thing.... to think that there is only one way to "serve one's country" seems like a mindless, thoughtless, conservative, right wing, knee jerk, march in lockstep way of thinking, Imo...

Again.... agrees.... while I served the country with 4 years in the NAVY, many others serve in their own chosen ways...!

That is all.

On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 4:19:54 PM UTC-5, Faraway Star wrote:
> Jordy C wrote:
> > George Dance wrote:
> > > Jordy C wrote:
> >
> > > > What does that mean? No disrespect intended for those who are or have been in the military, I admire them even if I don’t respect the leaders who mistreat them by lying to them and putting in unnecessarily in harm’s way…. But the “serve their country” line which is often used here seems unnecessarily macho and reactionary and rigid, as if their is only method to be of service… ultimately and *ideally*, at any rate, country would equate to the PEOPLE in the country, the citizens and the IDEALS of the country, not the LEADERS or the GOVERNMENT of whom we must always speak truth to power… and even beyond THAT, let’s serve ALL people on this Earth planet, not JUST the people in the land that we reside in!
> > > I think the idea is snobbish; why is it that only those who work for the military are referred to that way. Don't doctors "serve their country"? Don't farmers? Scientists? Inventors? Builders? Creators? Even we politicians, among the 90% who give the rest of us a bad name, there have been not a few statesmen. Don't statesmen serve their country more than anyone whose only job has been to fight and kill other people?
> > agree with you absolutly! have been involved in a lot of volunteer work over the years, and believe that is serving... anything that we do that helps other people, whether we are being paid or volunteering is a good thing.... to think that there is only one way to "serve one's country" seems like a mindless, thoughtless, conservative, right wing, knee jerk, march in lockstep way of thinking, Imo...
> Again.... agrees.... while I served the country with 4 years in the NAVY, many others serve in their own chosen ways...!
>
> That is all.

Actually, technically, if you look at civilians, including police and firefighters, being commended for their service-- it's usually phrased as serving their community. It's called serving country if it's at a national level..

On Sunday, November 26, 2023 at 5:30:36 PM UTC-5, Ash Wurthing wrote:
> On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 4:19:54 PM UTC-5, Faraway Star wrote:
> > Jordy C wrote:
> > > George Dance wrote:
> > > > Jordy C wrote:
> > >
> > > > > What does that mean? No disrespect intended for those who are or have been in the military, I admire them even if I don’t respect the leaders who mistreat them by lying to them and putting in unnecessarily in harm’s way…. But the “serve their country” line which is often used here seems unnecessarily macho and reactionary and rigid, as if their is only method to be of service… ultimately and *ideally*, at any rate, country would equate to the PEOPLE in the country, the citizens and the IDEALS of the country, not the LEADERS or the GOVERNMENT of whom we must always speak truth to power… and even beyond THAT, let’s serve ALL people on this Earth planet, not JUST the people in the land that we reside in!
> > > > I think the idea is snobbish; why is it that only those who work for the military are referred to that way. Don't doctors "serve their country"? Don't farmers? Scientists? Inventors? Builders? Creators? Even we politicians, among the 90% who give the rest of us a bad name, there have been not a few statesmen. Don't statesmen serve their country more than anyone whose only job has been to fight and kill other people?
> > > agree with you absolutly! have been involved in a lot of volunteer work over the years, and believe that is serving... anything that we do that helps other people, whether we are being paid or volunteering is a good thing... to think that there is only one way to "serve one's country" seems like a mindless, thoughtless, conservative, right wing, knee jerk, march in lockstep way of thinking, Imo...
> > Again.... agrees.... while I served the country with 4 years in the NAVY, many others serve in their own chosen ways...!
> >
> > That is all.
> Actually, technically, if you look at civilians, including police and firefighters, being commended for their service-- it's usually phrased as serving their community. It's called serving country if it's at a national level.

1 Visions of National Service
(pp. 1-28)
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv22jnv2x.4
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv22jnv2x.4

The United States has a long and rich history of citizens banding together, volunteering, and rendering service to their communities. When Alexis de Tocqueville toured America in the early nineteenth century, he commented on the American penchant for voluntary effort aimed at advancing the common good.¹ As early as 1910, Americans began envisioning citizen service on a national scale. With roots in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and 1940s, an institutionalized service movement has developed and grown over time. In the early 1960s, President Kennedy established the Peace Corps, expanding national service to the international community....
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv22jnv2x