Chip Bayer, who has the Thideology blog, suggests to me in an e-mail a Civilian Appreciation Day:

I wonder when the military will begin observing days where they “appreciate” all the sacrifice, dedication and devotion of the civilians who make their very existence possible. If it were not for the plumbers, secretaries, print shop technicians, and shop owners who go to work every single day—grinding out a living without pomp and praise—there would be no wealth for the government to pilfer, thereby creating the “jobs” that exist in the military. The military apologists frequently like to say the military makes the rest of our society possible, when, in fact, it is just the opposite.

The rest of us go to work every day without parades or applause. Many of us do work that is more dangerous than that of the typical “soldier.” So I ask, when will those in the military express their gratitude to us for making their existence possible? When will they have a day for the military to express its appreciation for those of us who actually produce something?

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