GABRIELA YARELIZ

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Memorial Day had me thinking about military culture and the strong influence it has in general American culture. Honor, duty, and service are keys to the American spirit.

If you go into environments where perfectionism thrives, you will find hints of military culture: a school, sports, a summer camp, a church or place of worship. These are all places where “discipline = freedom” is a familiar concept.

We have been watching a show called Tucci In Italy (on Hulu). While it focuses on regions of Italy, it is a beautiful reminder of the cultural differences that exist throughout. Some cultures are so deeply motivated by beauty, soft progress and other flavors. One episode was particularly interesting, where a man spoke admiringly about his grandfather who was a deserter. He jumped off of a train (to avoid war) and wandered the forest for four years, he said admiringly. I won’t lie, I was initially shocked. Where was the valor in that? But that’s the thing— in the U.S., that would never be a hero’s story.

In the U.S., we prefer a story of a band of brothers. A story of sacrifice and service. We have a bro culture of men who stand side-by-side doing things (Kiwanis Club, American Legion, Knights of Columbus, military, veteran groups, sports of any kind).

This culture is why Dana White, Joe Rogan and UFC fights make so much sense. It’s engrained (and interestingly, if you look at studies, necessary for men).

I personally love military culture. I had my fair share of summer camps where we did push-ups and would get up and say, “Thank you for strengthening my mind and body, Sir.” We had our bunks inspected. We were taught to handle a flag; to raise it and fold it properly (yes, the triangle). Our track coach would have us run until we vomited. Running in groups and a responsive hollering of things— definitely a thing. The PE Presidential Fitness Award (climbing the rope was hell). Every workout DVD or program called a “bootcamp.” We love this stuff. What can I say, it’s the American way. Now, having lived in NYC for more than a decade, I wonder if this culture is fading or if it just doesn’t exist here because people are kind of soft here. I don’t know. Maybe NYC has its own isolated culture and subgroups.

I think the discipline taught in military culture is important. A society devoid of honor and sacrificial service is a dead one. It’s one that gets trampled (look at history). Life is hard. I say it all the time. That is the greatest understatement of all time. We need to be used to facing hard things. We need to grip something and sweat and lift it above our heads even if we shake. We have to learn to breathe through pain. We have to learn to not leave the person next to us behind. To know our decisions affect another. To understand we win together. To maximize life and be the best we can be.

We have to strive for excellence. The moment we lose all of this, we have lost our essence as Americans. We not only owe a lot to our military service members, but we owe a lot to the culture which infiltrates so many of our spaces and pockets of our lives.

Discipline = Freedom. This will never be wrong.