First - the term chickenhawk should only be applied to those who go to illegal or suspect lengths to avoid duty when called upon and then later become hawks for going to war or enlarging the war.
So that is a designation that doesn’t apply in your case..
You were never called upon.. Be grateful, not regretful.
Secondly - I too was an avid hunter and even more, loved to fish.
That all stopped when I came home.. Life became too precious to destroy for sport or recreation.
But I don’t begrudge folks who do... It’s my quirk, not theirs. I still own and love guns. One of my favorite pastimes is to shoot the hell out of paper, tin cans and rotten oranges with my grandchildren.
And, you’re right about the difference between a private person who remains so, and a public celebrity presenting themselves as a Gung Ho, ass kicking, gun waving, Rambo VII HMFIC — compared to the reality of what they were when their Nation called upon them to be a man - and they weren’t.
Nugent always struck me as the worst kind of REMF.
If I’m wrong about the man - I’ll feel terrible. But for now - I choose to dislike him for what I believe to be true about him. Frankly, I’m now too damned old to really care what is true or false -— I am now a prisoner of my emotions and automatic reflexes and find that I am ruled by them.
Nugent could be doing all the good things and mouthing all the good positions in support of the Nation, our Military and conservative ideals without all the false bravado which he has never demonstrated in real life — and I could still respect him.. As it is, I most certainly don’t.
Do I expect folks to have been always perfect - to respect them? Of course not. Have I done things I’m not proud of? Of course I have. But I am not a public figure and I don’t presume to behave in public as a person I am not.
I don’t really believe that those I lost would have been spared if any of the “men” had not run to Canada or had daddy pull strings for a deferment or could afford to be in college or stoop to the measures that Nugent himself described to the press. (And then later said he lied about it) Hell, I guess some folks even lie to their diary.
It’s just that I KNOW the caliber and measure of some of the men whose lives were cut short - and they were and still are better men than the assholes who ran from duty and most especially Nugent. It strikes me as incredibly cruel and unfair that some severely flawed men live long and prosperous lives, while the finest among us were cut down in their youth.
Right or wrong - Nugent has become my shit magnet.
Right or wrong - Nugent is a hero to many, I’m not among them.
Everyone has to use their own judgment in dealing with life. That judgment is formed by each persons unique experiences. Your experiences have formed you just as mine have formed me. Neither is right nor wrong for anyone else, just different. Your judgment has its own validity and is certainly right for you. It is interesting to gain insights into another’s thought processes. This has been a very intriguing exchange and I think I now understand your viewpoint much better. You take care now, and have some fun with your grandkids shooting up some milk jugs and tin cans.