Why do Generals tolerate getting grilled by senators?

[Surferbeetle]

Now you CAN think lowly of the voters and comment on how money rules in politics, but that's exactly the attitude that I consider to be dangerous for a democracy.

Democracy is in peril if the respect for its institutions is gone - look at Germany in the 20's. 'A republic without republicans'*.
It's especially in peril if an officer has more respect in the public than a representative of the people.

Other countries have gone through such mistakes and phases. Is it too much if one expects that the U.S. doesn't repeat dumb mistakes that were already demonstrated by others? How about limiting yourself to dumb mistakes that don't have the not-invented-here sticker? There's already enough of those.

...for all of my life we Americans (Amei's? in Deutsch) have been publicly grumbling about the various failings of politicians who inhabit our system. This shouldn't be misconstrued as a desire to switch systems, instead it is an example of our ability to articulate our desire for better outcomes and for accountability of those politicians who do not measure up to public opinion. It can appear chaotic from the outside, in particular if one believes in ordnung and a more formal way of doing things.

America's military is an example of one of our institutions in which a higher standard is routinely demanded of it's members and strict accountability for failures is publicly demonstrated. This is why it gets the respect that it does in our society.

There is a firewall in America between politics and the military and both sides have and will continue to police the line. No worries

Best,

Steve