Whining for Recognition

I applaud all our servicemen and women who have served our country, have dedicated their lives and their bodies to preserving our freedoms and teaching other nations about how we live and how they would benefit from our ways.
I applaud all the firemen and women who serve their cities, towns, and families by helping prevent fires and rescuing people, pets, and belongings in the cases of residential fires. Even more, I applaud all the wildland firefighters, smoke jumpers, hotshots, and retardant copter crews who help preserve our national forests and lands.
I applaud policmen and women, DPS officers, livestock officers, Tribal Police, Correctional Officers, and peace officers all over this country for the jobs they do, many times at the risk of their own lives or limbs.
Thank you to all of you. You are appreciated greatly. Surely you know that. Even if people don't say it all the time.

I read an article this morning, women once again, complaining that they aren't being treated like the men when they do the same job. Not only did it make me think these women are who make it really difficult for those of us who have chosen to stay and raise our children to ever get recognition for anything we do, but are also causing the same stereotyping that they are trying to allay by working alongside men in "manly" jobs. Whining, whining, whining. But then I realized something else. It isn't just women doing the whining! I got caught up in the same stereotyped thoughts...

Men and women (or if you prefer, women and men) of the abovementioned branches of service: You get paid for what you do. You get health, dental, vision, and often life insurances that people who often work much more strenuous jobs never recieve. You get a retirement that millions of Americans never recieve, even if they put in well over your 20 years at their jobs. Military in particular: you are able to purchase discount food, furniture, clothing, and other of life's necessities at a commissary for the rest of your life, not just while you serve your military. You disappear for months at a time, seeing the world, albeit just bits and pieces and sometimes very, very ugly bits and pieces. You get to learn about cultures, religions, lifestyles people here never even imagined. And yet many of you still complain that you don't get enough recognition. Country singers sing about your heroic acts. People make Powerpoint Presentations and circulate them around the net, just for you. They take pictures of you and print T-shirts, bumper stickers, window decals, coffee mugs, key chains. They write books about you. I'm not sure how that isn't enough recognition.
I know your job is hard. I've worked law enforcement and fire fighting, and some days are so strenuous and you come home (or to your bedroll or whatever) so exhausted that you literally can't sleep. Sometimes the things you've seen give you nightmares for years, decades even. Yes, that is deserving of respect and recognition, that I don't deny. You do deserve it.

But nobody owes you anything. If you wanted a job where your face was going to be plastered all over the tabloids and newspapers, where you could stand up and address crowds with your self-important drivel, you should have been a politician. Because of our modern media and conveniences, there are no secrets about the military or law enforcement. You should KNOW that it is dangerous to jump into a raging inferno of pine trees, and you could get burnt, even lose your sight, hearing, or limbs. You know going into the military, even in peace times, that you could be shot at, poisoned, subjected to nerve gases, and various other nasties. If you don't know that, you are an idiot. But if you do know that, and you go into that line of work anyway, realize that everyone else knows that, too, so anything that happens to you is very sad, but not terribly surprising. These jobs are not about glory, and never have been. If you are serving the people of this country for the glory of it, and are going to complain when you don't get that glory, shame on you. If you don't serve quietly, maybe you should think about another line of work. People who really serve, don't want recognition. Being modest about service is what service is about.
Otherwise, it isn't service at all, it's just a photo opportunity.