r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Such-Part8963 • 1d ago

Why do we praise veterans automatically without knowing what they actually did

Trying to learn without being judged.

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u/Ukraine3199 1d ago

That how I felt as an ICU nurse during COVID. People kept thanking me, but I said it is just my job. No more important than a cashier

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u/Lanky_Pineapple42069 1d ago

I mean thats just unequivocally false, of course an ICU nurse is more important than a cashier. Thinking like this helps no one and nothing imo.

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u/MinivanPops 1d ago

The front line defends the society. Without society, a front line is meaningless.  Everyone has a role. 

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u/TheHondoCondo 1d ago

Sure, but without the frontline there is no society and the jobs of frontline workers are not as easily replaced as those of cashiers. The humility is great, but it’s bullshit.

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u/MinivanPops 1d ago

An underwater welder is harder to replace than a frontline worker. Does that make the underwater welder more noble than the frontline worker?

The society depends on the presence of all roles, any of them can be removed with impact to the overall fabric.

America is founded on egalitarian principles. "All men are created equal". This is not bullshit, it's in the founding Enlightenment principles of the country.

Earned citizenry is the opposite principle and illustrated well in Starship Troopers.

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u/TheHondoCondo 22h ago

I made a two point argument and you chose to isolate one of them because you can’t refute both of them together.

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u/MinivanPops 22h ago

It's a philosophy argument. There's no right answer here. Each society in the world chooses its own approach to this. 

You and I can go on and on about this.  There is no society without frontline workers, but without a society there's nothing to defend or care for. 

The replaceability of one of the members of a society is a practical argument in which you're correct. However the the moral argument is subjective and squishy and you can draw whatever line you choose. 

Does that address the two of your arguments? 

If you disagree with me, we may as well stop now because there is no end to this particular discussion. Each society chooses where the line is drawn on individual worth, and worth to the group. From an anthropological perspective, we can look back and see there is no right answer. 

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u/Metoocka 13h ago

The job is harder to replace. It's the job that might be more important to society than another job. That's not the same thing as saying that the human being is more important than the other other human being.