Many people forget the sacrifices that our brave men and women in the military have had to make over the decades for our freedom. Many of those same people take advantage of the fact that we have a strong military; by take advantage I mean they just assume that they SHOULD be doing what they are. Those same people are incredibly disrespectful towards the brave men and women fighting to keep our country safe. Being in the military is a great honor, it is not for everyone, and I guarantee you I would fall flat on my face if I even tried to join it. Bottom line, the level of respect for the military is no where near where it needs to be. 

It's mind-boggling that so many people have such a high level of disrespect for the military. This article is going to restate the facts of an encounter that my cousin, who is a Chief in the Navy, had to go through. So this article goes out to you, Chief. I hope that it makes you as proud as you have made me over these years, and thank you as always for serving and keeping us safe. 

My cousin was out in his service khakis (see the picture above), and an excruciatingly, uneducated, disrespectful woman approached him and the following conversation took place:

Woman: "Does the UPS man know you stole his uniform?"

Chief: "Excuse me?"

Woman: "Yeah, you look ridiculous and probably get paid less than he does."

Chief: "Thank you for your opinion, I'll forward it up to the uniform liaison."

Hopefully your reaction to this: WHAT?!!?!? THIS REALLY HAPPENED?!

My unfortunate answer: yes. 

Now, I hope all of you reading this are just as baffled and disgusted as I was when my cousin told me about this. The blatant disrespect of another human being is one thing, but to a man in his uniform who has served the Navy for 18 years and has fought on many occasions to keep her right to belittle him is something completely different. Men and women do not join the military because they just thought it would be a good idea. This is a choice that impacts the rest of their lives, as well as their family's lives, and it is carefully weighed as to whether or not to go through with it. Some do not come back from combat (and words cannot describe the gratefulness we should have to them for paying the ultimate sacrifice), but for those who do come back, they should not have to be victims of constant ignorance. 

When you are at home during the holiday season with your families, there are soldiers who are protecting your right and freedom to do so. They do not get to be with their families. When you are going for a run in your neighborhood, there are soldiers wishing they could go on a leisurely run but instead have had to run for their lives. When you are eating a beautifully home-cooked meal and complain that something may be too salty or not exactly what you had hoped, there are soldiers wishing they didn't have to eat dehydrated meals. There are so many things that people take advantage and forget that we didn't just get handed these freedoms. Soldiers sacrificed so much for these freedoms, the least they deserve is not to be degraded when they are home. 

The major point I hope you all take away from this is that the amazing members of the military deserve respect, and they aren't getting it like they should. That sad fact is simply despicable. They are fighting for the rights of those people to disrespect them! How twisted is that? Our brave men and women deserve so much more than they get, so please, after you've finished reading this, thank a veteran, thank a soldier in uniform that you see walking in the supermarket, thank all of them. Without them, I would not have the ability to write this article, and you would not have the freedom to read it. 

So to those who have served, will serve, or are currently serving this great nation, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I know that I would not have the life I lead today without your sacrifices and bravery. Thank you, thank you, thank you.