You've presented justifications for jaded cynicism toward the system, but none for disparagement or condescension to those who serve.
Yes, I was a young idealistic kid. Yes, I was lied to by recruiters. Sure, I was arguably indoctrinated by the system. You're free to be cynical about whatever you wish, of course, but that doesn't preclude you from acknowledging and respecting the special sacrifice I and many others have chosen, does it?
Please don't take this as an emotionally loaded attack; I'm not actually particularly offended by your sentiment, but I am interested in the perspective from which it comes.
My background is Bavarian, my grandfather served in WW2. He sacrificed himself for his country, but the sacrifice was not in aid of humanity. My family spoke openly about the disdain for the gov't of Germany and what they made everyone go through and the tough choices that need to be made between their allegiance to their country and their allegiance to humanity.
I never got to speak to my Grandfather about the details of it how to juxtapose service for one's country but against humanity. Suffice it to say that my father refused Canadian citizenship because he felt the idea of swearing allegiance to a person (the Queen) was abhorrent and that no person should be regarded in that esteem. To swear allegiance to the Queen was to undermine every reason why my family left Germany. It was very difficult for me to sign my passport because I knew that to do so would be to bind myself to the Queen and the idea that not all men are created equal, but I also knew that after 9/11 I could never leave Canada with out doing so. So I swallowed my principles like my grandfather before me and went along with the system.
The lesson to me was you don't ally yourself to a country, you ally yourself to humanity.
My father also spoke of the generosity of American soldiers and giving him candy bars, and always held America in high regard for things like the Marshall Aid plan. He also told me about hiding during bombing raids, but always felt it was a necessary evil, even when a bomb landed in the front of his apartment block. It was never in anger but it was an unspoken understanding that this was a necessary evil to eliminate a greater evil. Especially since my dad lived in Regensburg at the time and it had a ball bearing factory so it was essential that the factory be destroyed.
It sounds to me like you're somewhat conflicted, but your overall point is that your respect for sacrifice is contingent on the thing the sacrifice is for. That's totally fair.
I'm an immigrant to the US and enlisted in no small part because I believe that the interest of the US is largely aligned with the interest of humanity, because at the core of the US are ideals that have been a beacon of light in the world. I know historically that the light has been very obscured many times, and as an infantryman on the ground, I've personally walked in those shadows, and they are dark, but I can keep my head high because I know that light is there somewhere.
Yes, I was a young idealistic kid. Yes, I was lied to by recruiters. Sure, I was arguably indoctrinated by the system. You're free to be cynical about whatever you wish, of course, but that doesn't preclude you from acknowledging and respecting the special sacrifice I and many others have chosen, does it?
Please don't take this as an emotionally loaded attack; I'm not actually particularly offended by your sentiment, but I am interested in the perspective from which it comes.