Indeed. That would be like people claiming that gay marriage violates the sanctity of their marriage.
If I buy a Rolex watch, it's a Rolex watch. One of the fine timepieces of the world, a universally-accepted symbol of wealth, status, and quality.
But if all my neighbors envy my watch, can't afford one of their own, and buy a cheap replica on the Internet and sport it about on their wrists as if it were the real thing, how does that affect me?
I may be angry. I mean, I paid for the real deal; they didn't. My purchase reflects the hard work and sacrifice I had to perform at work to earn the money to buy the real thing; theirs doesn't. And others, knowing that my neighbors' watches are fake, may suspect mine is fake as well!
But it's still a real Rolex watch. I know it is real. I know its value. I know what it represents to me. Anyone who knows watches knows the difference between a real Rolex and a fake Rolex, and is not impressed by fake Rolexes. It has not lost value, it has not lost meaning; except perhaps to the unknowing crowd to whom it would never matter anyway.
So what we are really saying when we talk about the value of a blackbelt or a military award being degraded by fakers who wear what they are not basically entitled to wear is that we value the opinion of strangers who have low discernment abilities.
I don't strive to earn my blackbelt so that it will mean something to people I don't know. It will mean something to me, and it will mean something to people who know what a real blackbelt represents. What other value would I possibly care about?
The world is full of fakers. Sad, pathetic hangers-on who want to receive some of the glory, some of the respect, some of the accolades due to heroes. It makes me angry, sure. But I can't think of a way to restrict them from doing it without infringing on the rights of all of us, and that I am unwilling to do.
In one way I guess I am glad. It was not that long ago that no one wanted to put on a uniform and a chest full of fake medals; no one thought veterans and military heroes were that worthy of respect; in other words, there was no point in faking a military history; no one cared.
And I might add one last thing; for those 'some' who are outraged (and you know who you are): I'm outraged too. I'm outraged that when I go to the Veteran's Day Parade every year, I don't see your *** there. The last three years in Detroit, the marchers have vastly outnumbered the crowd. Yeah, we're all heroes, unless it interferes with your TV time. Get off your lazy half-moons and show some respect, or shut the hell up with how offended you are about clowns who pin medals to their chests that they bought off of eBay. Sunshine patriots are even less respectable than fake medal-wearers; they're just less visible.
