The Tragedy Of The American Military Analysis

In his article “The Tragedy of the American Military”, James Fallows discusses how the majority of the American public holds the military in high esteem, but has little to no knowledge about military affairs. In turn, the United States is more likely to go to war and turn a blind eye towards sound military spending. Although I agree with the author on most of his arguments, I do not completely agree with all of them.
The author states that the press does not voice public skepticism about the military as they do about other American institutions. I believe that the public is in more in touch with other institutions that have a direct effect on them. For example, health care and education nearly touch every American and hence receive harsher …show more content…
Prior to reading his article, I did not think much about someone coming up to me to thank me for my service. I always viewed it as a sincere thanks by someone who admired the American military and what it has done for the American public. It made me feel good about serving in the United States Air Force and committing myself to public service. However, after reading the article, I am slightly more skeptical about the sincerity of people making such a statement. After thanking a military member for their service, do those individuals go about their normal lives without giving another thought to the military, thereby proving how empty the statement really was? Perhaps they say thanks for the sole reason of making themselves feel better by having accomplished a good deed. Have they themselves tried to become a member of one of the military services, but failed for whatever reason and now use this as the means to pay their respect? Alternatively, is it possible that the individual thanking me is a veteran himself and wants to show his appreciation of continuing the tradition of serving this great nation? These are questions I will be asking myself during future situations where the military is being appreciated at either public events or through a personal encounter. Though I am slightly more skeptical about the sincerity of the statement “Thank you for your service”, I disagree with the author that it does more for the civilian public’s self-esteem than for the troops. In my opinion, most of the American public is well intentioned when showing their appreciation for the military. They are proud to be Americans and they are proud of what the military stands for. I might be one of few who believes that appreciative gestures toward military members are not empty. Those that have some connection to the military, either through a