Veterans should be respected because they gave their life for our freedom.

Murder is the killing of one person by another person, it does not have to be premeditated Richard Angelo was known for being a murderer not a fireman, just like how Lee Harvey Oswald is known for killing John Kennedy, not for being a former Marine Soldiers are armed because they are placed in a very hostile zone by their own government. If they are provoked by an enemy soldier they are allowed to fire back in self defense. What are they supposed to do die right there just to earn your respect? They are there to keep civilians safe from extremists, gunman, terrorists, etc. They are never set there to kill those people, they are dispatched to protect others from them. You keep claiming that soldiers choose to kill people but you completely ignored the idea that they are there for the defense of themselves, fellow soldiers, and innocent civilians. Being a soldier does not mean death like you state in your train theory. A man committing suicide has given up on life and stepped in front of the train, but the soldier has volunteered to put his life on the line not because they have given up on life, but they are willing to help preserve the safety and rights of people he has never known or met. Your comparison of soldiers to people waiting to die is very misguided because soldiers are out there for a purpose, to protect others. " Saying that soldiers are killing in self defense is as silly as saying that if someone breaks into your home to harm your family and they kill you while you're trying to stop them..." Thats EXACTLY what they are trying to do but they have the bravery to do that for people who he has never even met before. " we don't extend the same respect to miners." says you. If I met someone who worked in a coal mine their whole life Im going to respect them very much because mining has been the worlds deadliest profession. I dont know how you treat miners but I treat anyone who has a risky career that benefits others with great respect, and many others do as well. "Did they give their lives for freedom? No. They died to enslave us." They gave their lives for the freedoms of those peoples in distant lands who have been oppressed by terrorist and dictatoral regimes defining how they live their lives. Your idea that war costs us freedom is completely unfounded and unsupported by facts. The Patriot Act for example is a law that granted intelligence agencies powers to identify potential threats to the US and innocent peoples like us. " Soldiers Murder. Murder is violence. There is no honour in violence" Soldiers defend each other and civilians. Murder is violence but what soldiers do In war can be argued as self defense not murder. During the last four major wars freedom has certainly not declined. We are free from Hitlers Nazi Regime We are Free from Japanese aggression in the Pacific We are free from Saddam trying to control all the oil in the Middle East We are free from Al Qaeda launching more terrorist attacks against us from Afghanistan "There is no honor in violence", so I assume that peacefulness is the opposite of violence. Then I take it you dont respect any of these people 1) Firemen, chopping down doors with an axe certainly isnt peaceful, so they could be violent 2) Policemen, arresting drug dealers who are resisting arrest is certainly violent 3) Construction workers, holding a jackhammer to concrete isnt peaceful, it is rather violent 4) Athletes, Tackling people is violent, boxing is very violent, collisions during Hockey games are also violent 5) Doctors, Giving shots to people who are in the middle of a seizure isnt peaceful or pleasant, it is very violent Ill end on this. What soldiers do in war is not murder. They volunteer to put their lives on the line to defend citizens of the US or citizens of a faraway nation from evil forces and evil people. They volunteer their lives and their lifestyles to go help other people taste freedom. The government then gives them supplies and weapons they would use to defend themselves, their fellow soldiers, the citizens of the conflicted region, and humanity in general from gunman and terrorists whose goal in life is to drag all of us to death in the hopes that they in the end will be rewarded with 72 virgins. Soldiers are there for defense and to fire upon those who challenge them by firing on them first.