Quote:
their service is no less valuable than previous generations

I suppose that depends how you define valuable, from whose point of view.

Certainly their lives are no more or less precious than those serving during WWII, to pick an example. All life is worth saving.

But if they're sacrificing themselves for something that's worthless (to exaggerate), what does that mean? Well, if you spend a million lives to get the results of World War II, you get some value to each life. But if you spend 1000 lives to get nothing, well, those lives are less valuable insofar as the reward ganed from their loss.

On the flip side, are not squandered resources more valuable than those spent meaningfully? Would you rather have back that $500 you spent to get an empeg or that $10 that fell out of your wallet last week? So maybe they're more valuable.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk