The Military and How it Represents the People

By: Jacob Bonesteel

What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word America is said? Perhaps for
everyone in America it is different than what others around the world may think. Some may give
off the physical stereotypes of Americans, but what about the behavior? Truth is there is a
stereotype that Americans are very patriotic, but are also paranoid, and have a false sense of
superiority. The best way to show how Americans think is to look into an artifact that has
represented America and her people since 1775, the American military. Our military is a perfect
representation of how the people of America act and feel about everything.
The American people in general are arguably the most patriotic citizens in the world.
This is the only country where you can drive down the street
and see the stars and stripes hanging from a good amount of
houses. This country has the strongest military that does
not require years of service from all able bodied men like
many other countries do. Why is it that we can get away with that? The only logical answer is
that as a people Americans are incredibly patriotic. The next quality that many Americans share
is their paranoia. Americans seem to always be under this impression that someone is out to get
them. So what makes you feel safe? Being the most powerful one around, whether that means
you have a gun or are the strongest one around. That seems to be the reason why so many
people go out and buy a gun to keep at home or even on their person. Finally there is the false
sense of superiority that all Americans feel at one point in their life. Think back, it wasnt really
that long ago that women got the same rights as men. Men have always felt superior, and even

to this day there is not full equality. But the gap between the two is getting smaller. Where is
the only place where all of these personality traits are demonstrated? Most likely its in the only
place where all Americans are actually represented the military.
Through all the years of the United States, one of the top priorities has been to keep the
military strong and able to defend the people should it ever need to. Many Americans feel a
strong sense of patriotism and show it by putting their lives on the line to go out and defend the
freedoms and liberties of all the citizens back home. A strong example is the American Civil
War. Though it was against itself, the citizens have never shown more patriotism to their side of
the war. The South wanted nothing more than to preserve the slavery and their existing way of
life. When war broke out, masses of men rushed to the military office to sign up for the army.
Many women rushed to the hospitals to assist with the wounded. The same thing happened in
the North, though not as strong as the South. Many men raced to the recruiters to join the war
efforts and ensure that the South would not secede. That would have ruined all the hard work
that America went through and they would be giving up on freedom for all citizens. That means
slaves too, even though when free still did not have many opportunities. Another prime example
is the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Before the attack on America, many recruiters had a
hard time keeping up the enlistment quota. Many young men who were asked to join always
asked about the free college that came with enlistment before committing to the military. After
the attacks however, the recruitment office flooded with men both young and old. From men
who had never held a gun to men who had fought in past wars all wanting to rejoin the military.
According to Army Sgt. Cheri Depenbrock, It was all about the patriotism, Depenbrock said.
They didnt care about anything else. Money had nothing do with it. I swear, I think half those
kids would have joined if we hadnt paid them. In times of need Americans always show a

stronger sense of patriotism than most any other country. The American army is one of the
largest and most powerful in the world, yet it does not require years of service from all able
bodied men. American men and even women show a strong enough sense of patriotism that
there hasnt been a need to force anyone to join.
Unfortunately, even with one of the greatest militaries in the world, many Americans
have always had a great sense of paranoia. The attack on
September 11th caused many Americans to change their
very way of life. Think back to that day, most people were
either at school or at work minding their day to day
business. Then all of a sudden every channel was changed
to the same broadcast of President Bush addressing the people. Mass hysteria spread across the
country. People were outraged, scared, worried, confused and more. Since then, the army has
been overseas fighting this war on terrorism to give the people a sense of security again.
Fourteen years later and the war is not finished yet, the fighting has died down, but our military
is still over there and not back here. This shows just how paranoid Americans as a people really
are. But it also shows how the military represents the people and how they feel as an American
artifact. Another time that America has gotten involved in wars because of their paranoid
feelings towards something was during the Red Scare. Americans were so paranoid during that
time. Even their own people were being accused of communist behaviors and sent to jail almost
daily. No one felt safe even in their own homes with this idea of communism spreading around
the world. So what is the only logical thing to do when the American people dont feel safe?
Quite obviously it is to send the military out and fight communism. Three wars were fought over
communism. Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War; all fought simply so Americans back home

could have some peace of mind knowing that their military would not let communism spread to
the world. Think about the possibility that America had not been so paranoid. None of those
wars would have taken place because no one would have felt the need to go in and stop
communism from spreading. But also think about what the world would be had communism
been able to spread.
This leads into the next stereotype for most Americans. That is the false sense of
superiority that many Americans feel towards the rest of the people of the world. Americans feel
that they are better than everyone else. Their way of life is better than the rest of the world. That
is shown again by the military going into a country and changing their way of life simply
because it works for the States and seems better. Three major countries are Iraq, Libya, and
Afghanistan. Now that did start from the war on terrorism, but then when the fighting was done,
America changed the system in each of those countries to match a democracy. Americans show
more of their sense of superiority in the case of the Iron Curtain policy during the Red Scare.
American President Truman promised the people that though the military cannot fully stomp out
communism, they would in fact stop the spread of it. Americas military then proceeded to
charge into several countries to stop the spread of communism simply because it was not how
Americans lived and the clearly means it was wrong. No one will ever know what may have
happened had America not went in to stop the spread of communism or had they just left the
Middle East after killing Bin Laden. Perhaps what the military did was the right thing to do,
perhaps not. But one thing is for sure, that many Americans still feel superior to many other
people in this world because of their military strength.

Speaking of superiority, where is the greatest sense of superiority felt in America?

Between that of men and women. Men in America have always felt superior to women and it is
shown in everyday life, but what about the military? Think back to history class, how long was
it until women were actually able to enlist in the military? According to history.org it was not
until 1948 when the Womens Armed
Services Integration Act was passed
allowing women to take permanent
roll in the military. Before that, they
were only allowed in non-combat
hospitals serving as nurses. Even after
the act was passed, many women never saw combat until the Persian Gulf War or later. America
has always been a place of inequality regardless of what it preaches. That is shown in the
military especially. Only white men could serve for a long time, then black men were allowed to
join the fight, then women could join but would be at the discretion of officers whether or not
they would be allowed in any form of combat. Even homosexuals were denied the right to fight
in the military. It was not until 1993 when President Clinton signed the Dont ask, Dont tell
policy, and President Obama lifted all bans on homosexuals in the military in 2010. Think about
that timeline and then think about the timeline for those groups of people back home in America.
That was the same order in which rights were given to those individuals. Today equality still has
not been fully met between all groups of people. However, the gap is getting smaller each and
every day. According to armytimes.com just recently, 60 women were accepted into the Army
Ranger program. Should they all make it through and pass the physical tests, that means in 2016
America will have 60 women on the front lines alongside men. This is the first time any woman

has ever been able to go to Ranger school and the results will determine if anymore will be able
to try. Standard stats for men are a 45% graduation rate and 60% of failures happen in the first
four days. Success will be measured for women at the same standard as men. Nothing will be
made easier, but nothing will be made harder for the pilot test. Regardless of this achievement,
women have been raising their rank in the military and some outrank many men. This equality
that has been fought over for so long is finally starting to see some real progress. Men of this
country are getting closer to seeing women as their equals, and that is shown through the efforts
of the military.
This country is vast, and many do not understand Americans still to this day. But a good
way to find out is to look at things that represent a large majority of them. Stereotypes all come
from somewhere, someone must have proved them to be true or they wouldnt be around. For
America, the stereotype of her people is that they are patriotic, paranoid, and feel superior to
both non-Americans and even their own people. But that is just American culture, that is how
the people were taught to act and that is how they will continue to be.

Sources
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume7/images/nov/women_military_timeline.
pdf --> this is a timeline for women in the military
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/2015/01/15/women-ranger-schoolassessment/21708147/ women in ranger school
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=65272 recruitment stats after 9/11
http://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/diversity-inclusion/ picture of men and women in the
military
http://they-let-it-happen.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html --> picture of flags
http://andrewhammel.typepad.com/german_joys/2012/07/paranoid-americans.html --> Paranoid
photo