The Importance of Gratitude in the Military

Spencer: I think a lot of us build the kind of gratitude we expect to receive as part of the package of benefits. If that wasn't there, if you're going to do the same tasks and there was no expectation of any kind of public recognition or culture of gratitude, you'd end up having to pay people more for doing the same stuff. Ammon: You might be worried about attitudes that are vicious in the sense that being grateful when it's not warranted could be a sign of lack of virtue. And then third, you might think it contaminates public policy, make public policy decisions where this might occur.