You don’t protect my freedom: Our childish insistence on calling soldiers heroes deadens real...

No one in the military is a "hero". We're all a bunch of misguided assholes who realized that there is something bigger than ourselves. We have a higher belief system than the average civilian (damn near all of them really), and when the shit really hits he fan, I KNOW I can look to my left and right regardless of MOS or branch and believe we'll make it. It's not about some Hooah Hooah Rah Rah shit. Stuff that back in your pocket. Every branch has a creed, code, or a system of values they believe in. If you don't then you need to exit stage right. As far as a "justified" war, while all of us are entitled to our opinions, you do not make the decision (that is the most important part of it). You have two choices; deploy, or deploy your ass back to the house with nothing but a discharge that strips everything you ever wanted to do in life away.
No one owes me shit. If I worked for it, put some skin in the game, then give me only what I'm due. There are people who I owe, and some have passed, and others are still serving. I owe it to them to pay it forward and explain to them that while I'm retired, it's the same ol shit, just a different day. I know what you're going through. Here's how not to fuck up your career and your life.
Bottom line is NO we do NOT need to get rid of anything. If "military worship" is bad, then you looking for a high paying job to afford a "better lifestyle" is equally bad if not worse. You're now worshiping "the dollar". Somehow I think revering the military is a much better and patriotic option. If you don't want to say the pledge, fine, sing the Army song, fine, sing the national anthem...fine again. 1A allows for that. 1A also allows for those kids to be able to look up at something that doesn't play a sport, drive a car, or is a drug dealer or pimp and say to themselves "I want to be like him or her". Looking at us and admiring us tells that child you can make a goal, shoot for the stars and get it. I wanted to be an astronaut, a firefighter, a cop, a college graduate, but it was my memories of my father and grandfather in uniform early in life that laid the foundation for the moment it really hit me while driving on Ft. Belvior that being a Soldier is what I want to be.