I always got bothered when people said thank you for your service. Instead of going into detail I would just nod and say thank you back, sometimes I might say thank a teacher or a nurse. Still it bugs me, maybe is the cynic in me or just years of being jaded by my efforts, hard to figure it out, so uh……yea, thank a Soldier, definitely thank a nurse or a teacher! But please don’t thank me.
-F
The Americans Dream 
I respect your feelings on the matter, but I’m curious as to why it bothers you. Would you be able to explain further? I’m a civilian, my grandfather and uncle served in the military.
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It’s hard to say, there is the cynic inside that wants to keep the pain hidden from view, from outsiders. It’s very common in our culture to greet each other with a question “hey what’s up”, and just as common to reply with a question “how are you”, strange, is it not? In many other cultures if you greeted a person with “how are you” you wouldn’t get away without a 30 minute dissertation about that persons health and well being, their family etc… Hearing it for many of us just brings up the pain of all the bad inside, the things that we do, have done, what we are truly capable of. Of course I can’t speak for all service members but in therapy I have encountered a lot of this general feeling.
Thanks for the good question, the best one’s are always hard to answer.
-F
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I think I understand as much as I can. Thanks for the explanation.
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