Hear Me Out: “Thank You For Your Service” Feels Cheap

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Society & Culture, News, Business

3.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2023

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… empty thanks? Memorial Day is meant to commemorate those who lost their lives in serving this country. Around such a heavy day — and on many others — the common refrain of “thank you for your service” can feel hollow to living veterans, as well as military families. What are we reflexively thanking these people for, and how could we tangibly show gratitude instead? Third-generation veteran and writer Lucian Truscott IV joins us to propose that, while words may be well-intentioned, there are better ways to thank those who’ve served. ________________ Note: this episode includes a brief discussion of suicide. If you or a loved one need support, help is always available at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — you can call and text 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 988. Veterans can access specialized resources at the Veterans’ Crisis Line. ________________ If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can now email the show: hearmeout@slate.com Podcast production by Maura Currie You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Hear Me Out. I'm your host Celeste Headley. Memorial Day is a study of
0:05.4	contradictions for many Americans. It's the beginning of the summer season and
0:09.0	a three-day weekend is a time for many of us to go out on the water to have a
0:13.6	barbecue. But for the many thousands of Americans who've lost a loved one to
0:17.9	war, it can be a difficult day when they want to dedicate solemnly to those
0:22.8	they've lost. This country has a complicated relationship with veterans, living
0:26.8	and deceased. So on Memorial Day or any other day, should we thank vets for their
0:32.9	service or call them heroes? All of that kind of stuff is free and easy
0:38.0	patron to us. It's cheap. Writer and veteran Lucian Truscott joins us on Hear Me
0:43.8	Out in just a moment. Stay with us.
0:49.0	This episode is brought to you by Shopify. That's what I hear when I make another
0:54.6	sale on Shopify. The all-in-one commerce platform that allows you to start, run,
0:59.8	and grow your business. Shopify is revolutionising millions of businesses
1:05.2	worldwide. So sign up for a £1 per month trial period at Shopify.co.uk-podcast23
1:13.6	all lowercase and take your business to the next level today. Just a heads up
1:20.3	this interview includes discussion of suicide, listener discretion is advised.
1:24.6	If you are a loved one needs support, help is always available at the
1:28.8	suicide and crisis lifeline. You can call in text 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
1:34.1	at 988. Veterans can access specialized resources at veteranscrisisline.net.
1:41.7	And we're back on Hear Me Out, a podcast from Slate. I'm Celeste Headley.
1:50.3	Memorial Day can be a difficult holiday for many veterans. For one thing, the
1:57.2	holiday ends up feeling celebratory in an odd way for most Americans. Not because
	...

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