Essay:Respect for civilians

It seems like a lot of military personnel expect some inflated level of respect for defending their country. But they wouldn't be able to defend anything if they didn't have the funding that civilian industry provides. Those countries, such as the USSR, that had no private sector were militarily inferior to the relatively capitalistic nations. When will civilians get their due respect, rather than being derided for not being "army strong" or whatever? Why is there no Civilians' Day, or and why are there not the kinds of special cemeteries and ceremonies for civilians that military personnel enjoy? (It's a rhetorical question; we know the answer is that the government wants to honor those who signed a blank check, payable on their consciences, obligating them to obey whatever orders, ethical or unethical, they might receive from their commanders).

Ludwig von Mises writes, "The police officer and the fireman have no better claim to the public’s gratitude than the doctors, the railroad engineers, the welders, the sailors, or the manufacturers of any useful commodity. The traffic cop has no more cause for conceit than the manufacturer of traffic lights." The cops and the soldiers risk their lives and safety in the line of duty, but they and their families are well-compensated for those risks: "The supply of workers for these professions reflects their lesser attractiveness, and the wage is adapted correspondingly."

Also, civilians have taken more casualties than military personnel in most wars.