I came to a realization recently when I was watching a Baseball game that invited soldiers onto the field during the national anthem. It made me wonder why as a society we value soldiers as much as we do, especially since we have debatably not been in a war that would have threatened our native soil, since World War II. Soldiers provide little value to no value to the world, yet they command respect from almost every age group and anyone who disagrees is seen as a traitor. On the other hand scholars, who are slaving away experimenting, testing, inventing and overall adding value to mankind as a whole earn almost zero respect. Here are just some of my thoughts on the subject.

The Government Propagates Soldiers as Heroes

If you watch any type of sport, you will know that many of the commercials are for various branches of the military’s recruitment. The commercials are usually always the same, portraying a soldier as a modern day knight in shining armor, protecting everybody from harm and keeping the country safe. They make believe that every soldier that joins will be doing noble work and making the world a safer place, but of course that isn’t true. Yet still, thousands a year sign up with the idea that they will be doing something meaningful and genuinely helping people. Parents tell their kids how proud of them they are to be the parents of a soldier and how much their country appreciates them.

In reality the government couldn’t give a shit about a single soldier or what they think. When you join the army you conform to the beliefs of your country and you do whatever you are told without hesitation. The goal of the armed forces is to breed a complacent army of grunts they can throw into a meat grinder for political gain. To them you are expendable, so why do we continue to support these organizations?

There is a reason that low IQ individuals do well in the army and it is because they don’t question orders or dwell on the repercussions. Bomb a house filled with children? Sure ill do it. Disregard all rules of engagement and shoot any civilian who moves? Sounds good! For the majority of soldiers intellect has little benefit over conformity and brawn. Those who do think outside the box or actively speak up against their orders don’t last long.

Scholars as opposed to soldiers are actively adding value to the world in ways unimaginable, but receive no respect from the public. People take for granted that when they want to connect with their friends they can send them a text or if they get sick they can take a pill to cure everything. Who do you think did the research and development behind these things? The fact is that for the vast majority of time soldiers have done nothing but lower the quality of life for human beings while scholars and researchers have greatly increased it. Still we don’t parade our scientists in front of the country as shining examples of human achievement. Because being a scholar isn’t sexy, but they are the ones really down in the trenches doing work with value.

There is a large disconnect between what the public appreciates and what we need them to appreciate to advance as a society. We need to stop glorifying soldiers and start appreciating those who actually work every day to make sure we live a happier and healthier life. I think as long as the government continues its aggressive foreign policy though, these things won’t change. The government will always have a growing need for those willing to act without question, now and especially in the future if things continue as they are now.

-Calaber24p

Photo Citations
(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/511440101403787134/)
(http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper_Corps)
(http://www.playbuzz.com/emgqov10/are-you-more-of-an-artist-or-a-scientist)