If your son/husband/brother etc arrives back in a box with the flag draped over, do you consider it 'just' that he died for our country?
2006-12-19 06:56:09 · 34 answers · asked by Monisma 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
No - the dead veteran is no more important than a kid who dies in a car accident. We really need to stop glorifying war - a dead child is a dead child.
2006-12-19 06:58:28 · answer #1 · answered by Sgt. D.B. 3 · 8⤊ 11⤋
Simply being dead doesn't make anyone a hero (though there are those who will try and argue the point). The real question is WHY and HOW a person died.
Most people would argue that someone who willingly makes the 'ultimate sacrifice' for what they value is a hero, though I've observed that this depends somewhat on the values of the person in question. For example, those fellows who hijacked airplanes and blew themselves up probably believed they were doing things for the greater good, but they are usually castigated as monsters around here rather than hailed as heroes.
Likewise, many people I knew when I was in the military would have laughed at the idea that they were there to serve the greater good of the country. Some were there for money, some because of family tradition, some as an escape, and some because a court ordered them to do it or go to jail. To be fair, there are people in the military for whom the greater good is a factor in their decision. But to say all members of the military value this is to be nothing less than delusional.
So is someone who dies for a couple hundred dollars a hero? Or someone who dies to avoid going to jail?
The take-away message for all this is that if someone dies for ideals that you share, you will probably consider them to be a hero. This is also a clue to why some people get very upset if you don't agree that their heroes are such - you are attacking their very value system and branding yourself as their enemy.
2006-12-19 07:22:20 · answer #2 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My brother did come home with a flag draped over his body. He died for something he believed in and something I think the majority of people take for granted...freedom. He is definitely a hero, he always was a hero and he always will be a hero and so is everyone else who serves in the Military. To suggest otherwise is insulting.
2006-12-19 08:01:20 · answer #3 · answered by braun11d 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
As a military man I would not say it is heroic to die. As the great Gen. George Patton said. "Don't die for your country, let the other son of a ***** die for his". However I would give up my life in the defense of my country. It is my duty as a soldier as it is everyone who wears the uniform. The military is all volunteer. No one was forced to serve.
2006-12-19 07:02:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
It is heroic to lay your life on the line to do your duty, whether you lose it or not. Those who have paid the ultimate price must be honored for their sacrifice.
Countless people have said it, from Jesus to JFK, but there is no greater love than giving your life to save another...
To answer the second part, I'm not sure you can call any innocent's death "just" as he didn't deserve to die, but he chose to hold the line that others may live, and that's definitely heroic.
2006-12-19 07:25:25 · answer #5 · answered by C D 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is heroic to go beyond the necessary in fighting for your country . Simply being killed is not heroic.
We call all those killed in action heroes because we don't know the exact circumstances under which died. We give them the benefit of the doubt.
The Muslims, on the other hand, call anyone who dies a martyr. To Christians, a martyr is one who is tortured to death rather than give up his belief.
2006-12-19 07:08:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
It is heroic to kill and die for your country, provided your country is waging a moral and just war. Without the moral high ground, you are just killed while trying to commit murder on behalf of your immoral political leaders.
Example: Fighting Nazis who were trying to kill innocent civilians was a just and heroic act. Dying while doing this is heroic.
Example: Nazi SS soldiers who died from resistance action while trying to kill innocent civilians were not heroes nor were they dying for an heroic cause.
2006-12-19 07:53:01 · answer #7 · answered by SqRLiO 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I was an infantryman in the South Pacific during WWII.
I truly believe that the efforts of my friends and I (and sometimes wounds and deaths) resulted in saving our country and our way of life. To demean these men and women who are currently carrying out the pledge that they made when they volunteered is a terrible thing to do. A military perwson who carries out his orders in the face of great danger is indeed a hero. For us to sit back here in the relative safety of our homes and to belittle the efforts of these brave people is absolutely unacceptable.
2006-12-19 07:23:11 · answer #8 · answered by Old Chris 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Hero is a person who is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Hero is a courageous, good and noble person.
It might be heroic to die for our country in a war. It might not be. It depends on the war.
2006-12-19 07:08:58 · answer #9 · answered by paloma 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
That all depends on you perspective of the cause he was fighting for. If you believe the cause is bunk, then you might thing that he died for nothing.Just because the government says a war, or police action is just, this does by NO means indicates that it actually is.It is just their opinion.
2006-12-19 10:25:47 · answer #10 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
There is nothing more Honorable than to make the ultimate sacrifice for ones country. A hero is defined differently by each person. However, in many minds, in America at least, someone who died so I could be free in my thoughts, my voice, and my life is a true hero. I honor them every day I walk in to city hall.
2006-12-19 07:02:08 · answer #11 · answered by mjohnson2469 3 · 3⤊ 3⤋