<Snipped quote by Halo>
I know this country has a lot of problems, but saying ignorant shit about the soldiers who give life and limb so that they can be dumb assess pisses me off.
Yeah, being naive and ignorant about the armed forces isn't any better than being so about everything else. It takes bravery (or stupidity) and discipline, sure, but not every soldier is a hero or deserves your respect. They're just people. There are good ones and bad ones. The sexual abuse and rape rates on military bases is disgustingly high, as a prime example of the sorts of people you would automatically have a knee-jerk response of nigh-on worship to. Judge the man, not the profession - soldiers aren't special just for being soldiers. It's the bravery and selflessness of specific individuals within the armed forces that make those individuals special and worth your respect, but that's true of people outside the military too, no? So don't defend soldiers as a profession more than you would any other profession. Respect individuals for what they do, not what job they have, and only defend those which are accused baselessly.
There are massive problems with the actions and behaviour of the armed forces as an institution and of some individuals who are members of that institution, and they deserve and need criticism if those problems are going to be fixed. Blindly defending either the institution or those problem-individuals just because they're military is stupid and unethical. If accusations are levied baselessly, unfairly or wrongly at a person, then you should defend them. But otherwise, your reaction ("But theyre soldiers giving life and limb, and so criticising them is just WRONG *sheds a patriotic tear*!!!") just gives the shitty ones a free pass to do whatever the fuck they want, because they're untouchable. Seriously, think this shit through.
LetsFly