Help Veterans by Taking Them Off the Pedestal – Alex Horton – The Atlantic.

This is a very good piece that expresses a “contrarian” view that seems to actually be starting to pick up some steam.  Most veterans I know don’t want to be placed on a pedestal.  They just want to be treated as people:  As human beings, not as circus attractions.  Worshipping the troops is not only bizarre and blasphemous, it ignores the fact that most of the troops don’t want to be worshipped.  If anything, I’d say this article doesn’t go nearly far enough.  It still seems to generally buy into the “people who served in the military are better than people who didn’t,” premise, which is incredibly false.  Veterans (as well as active military) are just like any other group of people:  Some of them are competent, some of them are inept; some are brilliant, others are stupid; some are kind, others are jerks.  Don’t collectivize and stereotype them.  Don’t demand they stand at sporting events so we can all applaud them.  Just treat them like people, because guess what… that’s all they really are.

Statistically, at least one of these guys is likely to be a jerk.