"Is There Pride in Serving in Our Military?"

2/9/2012

By DARREN TRUE

In order to properly answer this question, I decided to research the definition of pride. According to Wikipedia, pride is defined as a high sense of one's personal status, a specific, mostly positive emotion that is a product of praise or independent self-reflection.

Philosophers and psychologists have identified pride as a signal of high social status and St. Augustine defined pride as "the love of one's own excellence;" in this sense, the opposite of pride is humility.

Now wait a minute; this doesn't at all sound like how I would define "pride." It makes it sound like this would be associated with someone who was full of himself, arrogant, an individual and not a team player. This definition in no way seems to fit, especially when it comes to our military.

When I think of our military, I recall old military slogans such as: "Be all you can be," "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of all who threatens it," "Aim High, the Air Force," and finally, the Marines, long known for their trademark "First to fight." All of these advertising slogans were symbols of the pride offered by the different branches of the military.

What does this pride look like today? Is this feeling of pride as strong and prevalent today as it was in the past? Has the state of our economy or the current wars being fought affected our perspective and feelings toward our military? As a non-military civilian, here's what I know. The greatest sign of pride in our military is patriotism.

This patriotism to me is very apparent at football and basketball games with the playing of our national anthem, the color guard performing, jets flying over prior to football games, the recognition of troops that have returned home after missions, and the moments of silence for those who have given their lives for our freedom.

Uniforms, gunfire, Humvees, and saluting; all part of a typical day in the life of a soldier; this is a lifestyle that requires strength, dedication, commitment, sacrifice, and most of all pride. In today's world, a soldier is a master of technology; they are highly trained and skilled people, they are educated and physically fit. What puts this sense of pride in a soldier? Is it carrying on the family tradition of service in the military? Maybe it's because they want to do, so others don't have to, such as fighting for those who can't fight themselves. It could be they believe in a cause bigger than themselves or is it simply the satisfaction of being part of a team?

Whether in commercials, in the movies, at ballgames, or simply just in the news, people in the military have always had an overwhelming sense of pride in what they are doing, as visibly seen by their impeccable personal appearance, discipline, and their military bearing. Pride is so evident in the oaths that these soldiers take from "defending the constitution from all enemies here and abroad" to the motto of the 1st Infantry division "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great."

Military pride is all about loyalty and duty; it's about selfless service, by putting the welfare of the Nation, the Army, and your fellow soldiers above your own.

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said "If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

Finally, pride in the military is about honor and discipline. In my normal life, a lack of discipline may result in a bad grade in a class or maybe a poor performance in a basketball game, but as a soldier, a lack of discipline could result in the lives of those soldiers around you.

So is their pride serving in the military? I would definitely say "yes."

Soldiers are not the only ones that can impact this pride in the military; we as a country play an important role in this sense of pride, by how we as a nation show support for our soldiers' efforts.

George Washington once said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."

In conclusion, the one thing that binds the United State Military into such a formidable group is our patriotism and pride. The proud heritage and history of America is alive and our land is truly the "Home of the Brave." We must continue to be proud of our military by supporting all branches of the service. Our soldiers volunteer much, ask for little, and are willing to make the supreme sacrifice as necessary. The very least that we can as a nation is to honor them and let our military pride grow.

My definition of pride: The United States military

Pride: It's alive and well in all of us.