The Marine Corps was simply an easier way to live. They divided the world into "us" and "them."
While civilian life is a little more complicated, we should take care of the "us" like Marines watch out for each other and deal with "them" as the situation demands. Maybe not has harshly as Marines deal with enemies of our country but with the knowledge that we are a group of people who will stand our ground when the need arises.
The lessons learned fastest usually involve pain - yours.
Competency at marksmanship is highly prized in the Marines. In marksmanship training, if a recruit is seen to not be squeezing the trigger correctly, the drill Instructor would bite the recruit’s trigger finger very hard so the sore finger would remind him to squeeze the trigger very easily.
I fired very well on the rifle range, except I had trouble at the 500-meter line. We fired from the prone position at that distance, which means we lay on the ground and fired our rifles.
On the practice days prior to Qualification Day, the drill instructor positioned himself behind me and observed the target through binoculars. Every shot that went wide earned me a swift and painful kick in the butt. By "Qual Day" I fired as well at 500 meters as at any of the other distances.
You are duty bound to hold up your end; people depend on you.
If you were caught sleeping in a class, after class you were allowed to smoke a cigarette and drink a coke. The rest of your platoon was forced to do P.T. or physical training -- a euphemism for calisthenics to the point of torture. The recruits would scream in unison, "Thank you Private (Your Name). You have killed our ass."
The lesson was that the individual is responsible to the group to do his part. The marine who sleeps on guard duty can get his comrades killed.
You are expendable and replaceable, no matter who you are.
This is true in everyday life. There is no room for prima donnas. Salvation lies in everyone looking out for everyone else.
I am using this little story as a metaphor for the "we" being us the agriculturists and the "they" being the animal rights activists. Someday we will all have to decide to climb down off the fence and join one group or the other.