I served 18 years in the Navy and found out early on that a lot of veterans and active duty members do not deserve respect. Just because a person served in the armed forces does not give that person a lifetime of respect. Prime example - John McCain!
First, let me take issue with your statement that veterans that you don’t like don’t deserve respect.
John McCain won a silver star, two Legions of Merit with v for valor, three bronze stars with v for valor, and a purple heart. Donald Trump disrespected this man, saying he preferred pilots who weren’t shot down. What award did Donald Trump ever win to judge McCain? The only military award Trump ever won was the 4F award.
McCain is from a navy family. His father and his grandfather had been admirals in the Navy. Nobody in Donald Trump’s family ever served in the military. Not his father, nor any of his sons. If you go back to Trump’s grandfather, that guy came to this country to avoid the draft in his home country. Such people have no business questioning those who serve.
You say you served 18 years in the Navy. I don’t know anybody here in my part of the country who is a veteran and who disrespects veterans. I also don’t know anybody who served for 18 years and not 20 years so as to qualify for a pension. But, if you did serve in the Navy, thank you for your service. You certainly earned your right to speak your mind about any damn subject you choose.
I myself served during the Viet Nam era. I didn’t get to choose my war. I know from people who got shot out of the sky in that war. They’re all damn fine soldiers and damn fine Americans. None of them should be disrespected by a draft dodger.
My father served during the Korean War. He didn’t get to choose his war either. My son served during the War on Terrorism era. Guess what? He didn’t get to choose in what war he served. But, we all served honorably, and deserve respect.
If draft dodgers from the Viet Nam War period are so ashamed of their manhood, they can’t thank John McCain for his service, they should shut up. Getting shot out of the sky by an enemy SAM isn’t your fault. It’s just a bad break.
So far, Trump has been relatively well-disciplined, and has moved in front of Biden in the polls. But, last week he wasn’t so well disciplined: Questioning Nikki Haley’s husband’s absence from the campaign trail was stupid, and so was encouraging Putin to invade NATO countries that don’t meet the NATO obligation of spending 2% of GDP on the military. I guess you can say I prefer politicians who don’t shoot themselves in the foot.