system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are American police generally despised while the military is very highly regarded?
gpt
The military don't take actions against the citizens of the country, they're regarded as protecting the interests of the nation as a whole.

The police are active in the community to serve and protect, this leads them to having more contact with the individual citizens and the perception that they're the enemy because it's an entity that is easily associated with preventing people from doing something they want to do.