In Israel, the military plays a much more important part of culture than it does in the United States. In the US, we talk about how proud we are of our soldiers, how common it is to display patriotism, etc. However, I believe that we just talk the talk. In Israel, they really walk the walk. They are a beautiful example of a country that has been totally defined by their military, almost as much as they are defined by their Judaism. The military in Israel is life for so many.
Because every student has to go into the military before they go into college, the general public perception of the military as an institution is really high. One of my friends said to me that there is no point in hating something that you have to do, and I think this is a common attitude there. People are placed in different branches of the military after a test, and different branches demand higher scores. Some branches demand 3 years of service or more, while others are less. The military is set up to have something that appeals to everyone. And goodness knows they need the help.
In Israel, they are constantly under threat from some neighboring nation. I believe that this affects the country's culture at a very basic level. They constantly live in fear of an attack, which makes them more ready to pick up and bear arms themselves. This makes sense, because they understand how real the necessity of having an army is. In the United States, we are never really under threat. We get to fight because we want to, because we think there is an ideal worth defending somewhere else. Israel doesn't have that privilege. And this has so changed the country.
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