You addressed things i was saying to theking, not you.... and i was also referencing or addressing his behavior and comments, not yours.
As countless many have pointed out in recent times, you refer non stop to the fact that were a marine. When you are driving down the road and people are honking their horns at you... at some point, you should start asking "why" and take an inventory.
"Proud" is an emotion. The act of typing it out 2-3 times a day to make others aware is not "proud". It's insecure.
Everyone alive with very few exceptions have done a great deal to feel proud of. This is what is so offensive about thekings general stance and the suggestion that unless you shot at someone, you are less of a person and have accomplished less than he has. It could be saving someones life, some scholastic achievements, being a great parent, graduating from an ivy league school to dedicating every spare moment to charity or whatever. They are not bringing it up 5 times a day... because though they might be proud of their accomplishments, its not who they are. It's not what they are. It doesn't define them as it is just one small facet of who they are as a person. It is the insecure person who has to keep talking about that one thing.. that happened that one time and that can't let it go.
I discovered my grandfather was in Korea because when i was about 4 (or so), i remember seeing the bullet wounds and surgery scars from having one lung removed. Every once in a while, someone would make a comment about him being in the marines through my life.
Everything i know about my grandfathers military service was either pried out of him after a great deal of effort or I learned it by getting a hold of his stuff from the Korean war from a relative.. which included a huge number of diaries, letters and so on.
He never really talked about it.
These medals, i don't believe i ever heard him speak of (taken from a copy i have of his obituary):
- Bronze Star with Valor
- Two Purple Hearts
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Presidential Unit Citation with one cluster ribbon
- Good Conduct Medal
- National Defense Medal
- Korean Service Medal with three clusters
- United Nations Service - Korea Medal.
My point is simple...
He never reminded a single person that he was in the Marines.
He never had to tell others he was "proud" of himself.
He never made shitty comments like theking such as "what have you served or done to be proud of..." to remind others that he was better than them... as if people don't achieve things all day, everyday to be proud of other than being a paratrooper. TheKing clearly isn't a rocket scientist or heart surgeon or judge, yet no one is suggesting he is less than a person for not being any of those, nor could it be argued that any one of 1000 things he could never achieve in his life which are no less difficult or cause to be proud of than his being a paratrooper.
My grandfather never even spoke about this stuff. I was close to him. His only grandchild and lived just a few minutes walk from him. I was with him all the time growing up.
He never reminded anyone about how "selfless he was" while also implying that everyone owe's him as theking does, or as many do who were in the military, whenever the topic comes up.
He never peppered every other conversation with "when I was in the marines" or "when i was 16, i ran away and joined the Marines"
It's not that he wasn't proud.
It's that he was a truly great person that truly put others before himself. I never understood or appreciated that fully until he was gone. He was truly selfless. He was truly giving. He would give everything for people and ask for nothing in return. He was a strong person that would give anything he had to anyone that needed it. He was a nice guy that everyone liked and wanted to be liked by.
Thats a big part of what being truly secure with yourself is.
Thats probably why he never spoke of his service. Because thats what it is.. "service"... not "bragging rights", not "something to rub peoples face in", not "a cause to demand respect and belittle others". It's not an identity. It didn't define him. It wasn't where his growth ended as a person... it was simply part of his journey.
Unlike theking, his heart was in the right place in everything that he did.