If you don’t support the war, you don’t support the troops. Questioning why they died tarnishes their loss. Questioning their loss questions your patriotism.
Ever since we did not have surrender parades at the end of the Vietnam debacle our national warmongers have been busy building a cult of militarism that has come to regard anyone wearing camo as sacred and owed a solemn “thank you for your service.” The flag, the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance have become the forms of requisite worship and public demonstrations of unquestioned faith in American righteousness and international supremacy. Don’t anyone dare “take a knee.”
Part of this is the apotheosis of the military’s highest ranking officers, the generals—men who have achieved the status of not being able to win a war (unless you call Golf War I a real war) since VJ Day in 1945. Since 9/11 they have unable to achieve even Pyrrhic victories in the several Middle Eastern countries America has invaded.
“If you think this war against our way of life is over because some of the self-appointed opinion-makers and chattering class grow ‘war weary,’ because they want to be out of Iraq or Afghanistan, you are mistaken. This enemy is dedicated to our destruction. He will fight us for generations, and the conflict will move through various phases as it has since 9/11.” Such is the genius rationale of one of the triumvirate of generals putatively acting as the “adults” keeping reign on our petulant narcissist President, General John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff.
Now there’s a hearty chuckle for ya. Kelly’s idea, it turns out, of being semper fi is to be a willing sock puppet for his Commander-in-Chief, so much so that he has proven willing to publicly smear himself with his own feces after Trump was criticised for insulting the mother of a killed soldier in Niger by telling her that her son knew “what he had signed up for.” Kelly got up there and insulted the congresswoman who rightly complained about that language. The insensitive remark was overheard on a speaker phone by Florida Congresswoman Frederika Wilson, a friend of the dead soldier’s mother. The 4-Star Bigot added some racist/misogynist flavor by calling the congresswoman an “empty barrel” to his commander’s characterization of her being “wacky.” What little distinction there is to Kelly’s military career (he seems to have gotten promotion to higher ranks for being able to keep a neat desk and walk and chew gum at the same time) is now in the toilet, and by unfortunate extension he has besmirched the sacrifice of his own son on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
The administration’s official co-prevaricator and Ouachita Baptist University alumna, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, admonished the White House Press corps about questioning the Trump’s generals. When it comes to the First Amendment the bovine Secretary is not above adorning herself with her own dung. America has hardly done well by its adoration of these strutting peacocks in stars, medals and ribbons and history has shown that when they are placed above question and reproach its comes to little good.
Of course, at the apex of this perverted and deceitful pyramid is a draft evader who went to a snooty military high school and got to dress up and play soldier in a Student Prince costume. Notice that he was also awarded some medals. One is being spoiled brat of the year; the other is for being best “P” Grabber with tiny hands. The third is called the “Purple Deferment” medal for having a several deferments that kept him from having to go to Vietnam with those awful Black and Hispanic soldiers that didn’t know “what they were signing up for” because they didn’t money or bone spurs on their feet. The fourth is the Bronze “B” for Insulting Black women, with Oak Leaf Cluster. That’s what he signed up for.
To this cast the truth is just one more casualty where the ends justify any means. When a soldier dies almost unacknowledged in a faraway country in a undeclared war just what was it, and what kind of a nation, did he “sign up for?”
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Disclaimer: This essay might be considered by some to be disrespectful of those called upon to “sign up.” They will have completely misread its intent. No true or honorable soldiers were killed in the writing of this essay.
2 comments
This veteran agrees with you, wholeheartedly. Except I wouldn’t have been nearly as diplomatic.
Vietnam marked the beginning of the end of America. Odd that the horrendous drug war(s) were started as VN was ending, not.
Agreed, Joe. VN underlies much more of the fractured nation than the Burns doc addressed. Drug use in the military didn’t seem to matter that much. In fact it had been in use in combat since the Assassins, and Germans were issued meth, and the Japs were working on stuff to improve their effectiveness. Since our troops were draftees, a lot from our ghettos, the government didn’t seem to give a damn. Now we have this national shit fit over opioids–because a lot of better of, White, people are dropping like flies. Check this one out: https://dragoncityjournal.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=437&action=edit Soon I will be reviewing a new book on the American complicity in the escpae from prosecution of the Japanese chem/bio war facilities in Manchukuo.
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