Which spanking cliches drive you crazy

chandra
I'm 100% with you on this. Don't know why but it just does something.

Western militaries derive from a tradition in which officers were landed gentry at minimum, and enlisted were not. Americans seldom get that the distinction and related courtesies, stem from a society in which officers were nobility. That is btw why the Americans were the first to make a four year degree a prerequisite for commissioning: their caste system is based on schooling, and only indirectly on descent.

So it doesn't need to make sense, any more than curtseying to Eugenie York but not a commoner with vastly more intellect and accomplishment makes sense; it's an artefact of a different culture. Do you worry about whether it makes sense that some cultures have shrines to dead relatives in corners of the home, and it matters intensely *which* corners? If you treat the military as a fascinating but markedly different culture, it might not drive you as crazy. That's how I live with it, anyway. *drinks quietly*

kdpierre
A professional military is a separate and distinct society. It has its rules and customs developed over centuries of armed combat. Remember, an army must take thousands of conscripted young men and turn them into a disciplined fighting force. The military has developed techniques that work. Just accept it. You will never completely understand it even if you serve. Chicken shit is a military term.

To JessicaK & ckpollman:

THERE you go! Now those are answers that I can accept and all I really wanted anyone to admit, essentially 'no it doesn't really make sense but it is a tradition and technique within a certain arena.' That is much easier to accept than someone trying to explain why it does make some kind of sense. Thanks.

(True story: my step-daughter just joined the US Army about a month ago........as a dental student. The person swearing her in joked, "after me being in the army for ten years, in a few minutes you will outrank me." I told her she should have replied, "yes, but the only orders I will be giving are 'open wider'.")