Governments allow their military systems to take their citizens and make
killers out of them. They are trained, okay, let's be blunt: they are
"brainwashed" into thinking that "the enemy" are not humans just like they are.
No, the enemy are more like, say, cockroaches or disease-laden rodents in need
of extermination for the benefit of the rest of us. Indoctrinate a group of
people into the dogma that the world is divided into us and
them and you lay the groundwork for widespread hate and
inhumanity.
It would be a nice thing if we could all just ease back into our recliners
and pull an American flag over us as a lap quilt and take a nap, cozied by our
feelings of patriotic righteousness. Many of us do that, you know. Some of us
know better.
The recent whoop-de-doo over American soldiers posing disrespectfully with
the remains of suicide bombers or marines pissing all over the remains of dead
Afghans while cracking jokes (to mention just two examples), or any of the
other atrocities our soldiers inflict on "the enemy" and then which reach the
media, always make me uneasy. Especially when our political and military leaders
then step to the microphone to express their disapproval and denounce how these
actions are "not who we are."
The hell it's not! It is exactly who "we" are and who any nation eager to go
to war is. The louder the shouts about the justness of the cause, the deeper the
inhumanity will flow. It is impossible to hate and dehumanize the enemy and at
the same time treat them humanely.
I'm not saying we are worse than the other warmongering nations in
this. I'm just sick of all the hypocrisy. I'm sick of the idea that war isn't
really personal against anyone, but just a matter of principle, a struggle of
good versus evil. Look beyond the rhetoric and you see it isn't. It's more like
fighting evil with more evil.
I know that at this point we should hear from some Col. Jessup who
would say to me:
You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has
walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it?
You?
What a damned world this is!
8 comments:
Well said. A professional army kills whomever it is paid to kill. Once its leadership has sufficiently worked it into a frenzy of hatred the killing becomes easy. In recent years the military, reflecting the nation as a whole, has become very permeated with Christian proselytizers, who have worked very hard to engender a hatred of Islam. The extremist right wing Christians in government have added to the mix. It has almost taken the atmosphere in some instances of the Crusades. It would be quite easy to transition the hatred toward Latinos, if the right people came into power.
You have hit the proverbial "nail on the head" with this one. I totally agree. I have done a 180 degree turn in ten years. Do I need to go into detail about Iraq and Afghanistan?......I think not.
Alright Doug. I guess I have to tell you everything that's wrong with that post. Here goes: ...............
I painfully admit that you're right on this one. Military training is an exercise in weakening a soldier's identity, then weakening their resistance to killing other human beings. I'm not saying that we don't need a military or that military personnel don't do good things, but it's easy to ignore the fact that such training is basically about creating obedient killers.
And we wonder why returning soldiers have so many difficulties acclimating to civilian life. When you've been conditioned to think that way, AND exposed to the horrors of war, the result is psychological trauma.
Well said, Doug. It is so frustrating to me to say it is one (or two or three ... whatever) but, in the end, we've got a multitude fighting for our country. That is totally BS. Can't we all just get along? Oh wait ... we can't. It started aeons ago, and we can't stop.
@ Everyone,
Are we in the minority among earth-dwellers on this? For some reason everyone just can't and won't get along with one another. It is depressing.
In the words of Hawkeye Pierce "War is heck".
We just had ANZAC Day here in Australia - when we remember the fallen. Although there is a bit of "hero stuff" that goes on, I'm glad to say that is not the focus. For most, it is simply a reminder of the cost (as well as a day for two-up and drinking ;)
To me, though, the horrors of war are, just as you say, a grim picture of who WE are. Every time we dehumanise the "other", and resort to "us" vs "them" thinking - we are participating.
@ Kerry,
Yes, that "hero stuff" presents a problem. Taking the position I do might seem to some people as if I don't appreciate their service in our defense. My dad and just about all of my uncles were veterans of World War 2. They mostly did what they were compelled to do by their government (a couple lied about their ages and joined up to get away from home, poverty, and to see the world). But all of them were deeply scarred from the experience, and I grew up hearing about this.
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