The other day, I was scrolling through Facebook as I do on a pretty regular basis, watching videos and reading posts, when I came across something that deeply disturbed me. A friend of mine, who often times will share things with which I strongly agree, had shared a video of a girl talking. His caption was something along the lines of, “This girl should not be allowed to have thoughts.” So, of course, it caught my interest, and I watched the video.
The girl, who could not have been older than 13 or 14, goes on for about two or three minutes talki
ng about a man she observed in uniform that day. She then proceeds to completely insult and disrespect him. She calls his uniform stupid. She tells him he is wrong for wearing it in public because he is just looking for attention or trying to pick up women. She says she is 100 percent against the war and the military, and that he should be ashamed of himself for signing up to kill people and “get away with it.”
What baffles me right off that bat was how she opened her video. She says, “Guys will go
to any extent to try to impress people.” Right away, I have a few things I would like to say to this girl. I really doubt the soldier she saw had any intentions of impressing anyone that day, especially not people like her. Contrary to what people like her think, members of the military forces have a little bit more on their minds than impressing people or looking for praise. As for the “stupid uniform,” a uniform is like a badge of honor. It is a part of military life. It is a sign of commitment and brotherhood and unity for their country and their branch. Anyone who is affiliated with any branch of the military should and most likely is very proud, but also humbled, to be able to wear their uniform. It is extremely disrespectful to call any uniform “stupid” or “not cool,” as this teen says repeatedly.
It also baffles me that this girl cannot seem to comprehend that without people like this man she saw, there would be no such thing as national security and safety for her, her friends and her family. The men and women who sign up for the military do so with the knowledge that they could die. They could be shipped overseas, and they could die for their family, for their friends and yes, even for people like this teenage girl. They could die for someone who sorely lacks respect and is against what they are doing, yet they choose to do it anyway. I cannot think of anything more noble than putting the lives of people you do not even know above your own.
It saddens me to know that this teenage girl is not the only one of her kind. Everywhere you turn, there are people who are against our military and who refuse to show them the respect they deserve. Next time you see someone in uniform, please do not be like those people. Smile, shake their hand and say thank you. What they risk every day for us is more than we will ever be able to give back to them. A little respect and gratitude never killed anyone.
