We pass by them, six feet under, on the way to the 405 freeway. One of the major streets in Westwood is named after them. And thanks to them, we had a day off of school this past Monday.
They are the veterans, the soldiers. But even though we are surrounded by cemeteries, streets and holidays that commemorate them, the military still remains mysterious and detached from us, shrouded by various preconceived notions and stereotypes.
And it is because of our detachment ““ and thus ignorance ““ that our perceptions of the military are so ambiguous.
We revere them for their bravery and courage, donning our “Support our troops” bumper stickers and T-shirts. On the other hand, we scorn them for their so-called womanizing ways, loose morality, machismo and lack of education.
The awful part about these labels is that they distract us from truly giving them the respect they deserve.
Even more awful was realizing that I myself fell victim to this. I, too, did not know anything about soldiers at all.
My real-life exposure to the military only began a few weeks ago, when a Marine asked me to go to the Marine Corps ball with him.
I soon realized that the stereotypes I held were not an anomaly. Everyone around me warned me of their promiscuity (and so on).
“That sounds dangerous,” friends said.
“Why can’t you hang out with intellectual Asian college boys instead?” my mother suggested.
I had cast aside my own reservations about military men, but now they only seemed real. I declined the Marine’s invitation.
Interestingly, my Civil War history and political theory classes aligned to meet with my sudden brush with the military. Learning about soldiers as historically honorable, respected citizens, I wondered why and when we became so ignorant and critical of them.
Truly, we are ignorant today because we are selfish. We value pragmatism, self-improvement and self-interests. We’re much too busy practicing these values via college educations.
College is ultimately a self-serving goal, while the military is quite the opposite: you must literally sign a contract to dedicate yourself to your country.
And we frown at choosing this path over college because soldiers are not following social norms ““ prioritizing the self through academics ““ which is a misguided notion itself.
According to UCLA ROTC students and former soldiers, the military highly encourages access to college education in order to attain higher leadership ranks.
It’s no wonder that the military is more disdained here. Not only are we oblivious to such aspects of the military, but no other place can be accused of self-preoccupation more than fast-paced Los Angeles, where we push through crowds to reach our goals, our ambitions and our interests.
“I think it’s a regional issue. … In Kansas, it’s a very noble thing to join the military,” fourth-year political science ROTC student and Marine Brian Collins said. “It’s hard for college people to wrap their minds around the idea of “˜service.'”
First-year Arabic and ROTC student Roberto Orozco, Jr., also agreed. “There is a general drop in (interest in) public service in our generation.”
Much of this is a result of our increasing cynicism toward the government and its current policies. But these policies make those who do serve even more noble, since they volunteer to do the jobs that most don’t want to do.
And the military requires a certain level of commitment to sustain dedication without hesitation.
“It’s not like a normal job where you can put in two weeks if you want to leave,” said Gregory Jamero, first-year ROTC student, Marine and political science student.
And as I listened to these soldiers’ experiences, I was shocked to realize how separate their world was from ours. I saw students addressing their superiors with “sir” in the hallway at the ROTC center, and I saw the uniforms that already distinguish them from the rest of society, the training and the discipline.
This separation isn’t insignificant, according to Jamero, “People don’t realize what the military goes through in combat, but that’s the point. Most people serve so other people don’t have to.”
I don’t think anything can be more noble than that.
If Audie Murphy is your hero, e-mail Yoo at jyoo@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to