I want to reply here because I feel that my post that led to an argument is one of the posts that led you to write what you have here.
Did I take a beating, yes...
Did I deserve it? Maybe...
I feel that EMS has many sides, to many to pull us all together in one "brotherhood". There's career medics, to volunteer first responders, and everything in between. There's BLS crews, Rescue Squads, Helimedics, etc.
The people that you work with, whether it be you co-workers, or your fellow volunteers, that is where the brotherhood might (I used the word might here people, not does) exist. At least with some volunteers, there's a brotherhood. My father drove an ambulance for the voly fire dept. down my road, and although his job takes him away from it, he still attends department fundraisers, events, and member funerals, because with those guys were his brothers when he was there.
But then again, when I go to a paid department near me, all I hear from the medics is how they like to talk :censored::censored::censored::censored: about each other when one of them doesn't get their way with scheduling or something.
And please don't take my comments as medics are heartless, and volunteers aren't. I'm just using examples I know. I'm sure there are examples of the opposite way around.
I feel that there isn't an all encompassing brotherhood, as everyone else agrees, but I'm sure every person who is ever involved in providing health care in general, the people who touch patients and work with real people, they all understand that they do something that matters. That if it weren't for them or the system they're a part of, peoples lives would be worse.
Every medic knows that every basic is important, every doctor knows that every nurse is important, every er tech, every first responder, every lifeguard, even if they chose not to show it. And to be a part of that chain so to speak, there must be the willingness to help people in their time of need, and have the integrity to do their best to help every patient to the best of their ability.
So is their a buddy buddy thing going on? No. Not all the time, or everywhere at least. Is their a need to keep each other willing to help and withhold the integrity of ems as a whole. Obviously, because otherwise no-one would have said anything otherwise in my post. They felt the integrity of the EMS system was being infringed by my crews practice. I'm going to chat with my chief on Sunday, because I realize the harsh words used against me was really the EMS system trying to protect itself. And some of it made sense, even if it upset me.
We are all united by the fact that:
A. Human life matters to us, and that we are trained to protect it.
B. The EMS system means enough to us that it deserves protecting.
C. Criticism is our form of defense. As long as it stays to a non-insulting level, then it's a good thing.
I've learned, and hopefully you reading this will make you understand that you don't need a brotherhood to do what really matters, which is to care about what you're doing, and how you're doing it, and not who you're doing it with.
I hope I come across clear, and that this post is also my apology for my negative responses in the argument that I was involved in.
), however we do have a unique quality that separates 'us' from other professions. We are all committed to the same goals (hopefully). So there is some 'unity' but its nothing that is advertised like in the firehouse. 
....
B)