[obligatory pointing out that there’s a significant variance in culture throughout the country]

But, there’s a bizarre conflation among many US Christians between military service and their religious belief. I literally tuned in to a Christian radio channel yesterday that was talking about a soldier that was killed in Afghanistan, and how his death was God’s calling for him and a testament of his faith to all who heard his story.

The mentality itself is very much a product of the Cold War era; while the Soviets were opposed to many forms of religion, the rhetoric in the US conflated religious belief with patriotism, since the US was the major opposition to the USSR. In the years since the fall of the USSR, many parts of the US have shifted away from that mindset, however, that has further entrenched many of those who still hold onto those beliefs.

Even among many non-religious, though, there’s still a holdover of a sense of a “higher duty” to appreciate the service of veterans. Essentially, because they were seen as a modern martyr. Ironically, there are many veterans who resent this, though, and see it as inappropriate glorification.