Perception of the Military

We are constantly encouraged to think of our military as 'heroes'.

I have always found this confusing, its one of those things that nobody seems to question - its just inherent. If you fight for your country, that makes you a hero.


Well...lets put this into another context.

We all know that in WWI and WWII, the Nazis were on the wrong side. They were the bad guys, what they were doing was wrong, they were the aggressors. Few people dispute the wrongdoings of the Nazis during those times.

Even though Nazi generals and troops fought for their country - were they fighting for an honourable cause? No.
Does that mean they're heroes. No! It means they're criminals, and many Nazi generals were imprisoned for their crimes.


Lets bring it back into a modern-day situation: The war in Iraq.
Anybody in the army with half a brain cell knows the war in Iraq is ILLEGAL. They know that they are killing innocent civillians, 100,000 innocent people dead (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/) so far. 100,000. 100,000 individuals with thoughts, feelings, families and dreams.
The cause of the war was for private gain of a small group of individuals who couldn't care less about the wellbeing of the Iraqis OR the allied troops. The war is illegal and wrong.
So, knowing this, would you then apply for the army to do such heinous acts? Knowing that because of you, you'll be taking an innocent mother or father from their family? Or killing a child, or making dozens of people homeless?

That to me does not make someone a hero - even if they are fighting for my country. Heroes are people whos actions defend people and save people, whos actions have been honourable.
The entire war on terror has not made any sane person feel safer. In fact, the people I fear most now is my own government, using the guise of 'terror' to reduce our civil liberties to dust. The war has also made us more likely to be attacked than ever. So their actions, as well as being wrong, immoral and illegal actually worsen my situation.

So I won't call these people heroes. I'll call them idiots. Yes, you're brave to stare death in the face but firemen do it every day and for much more honourable reasons. Bravery doesn't make you a hero unless its for the right reason.