Posts in "Militarism"

Are Soldiers Heroes?

Feb 13, 2012 at 5:12 PM

As I left a grocery store recently, I noticed a sign taped to the glass entrance door. It was an older newspaper, with faded ink and curling, yellow paper. On it was a ribbon, half yellow and half American flag. On the ribbon was the phrase, “Support America’s Heroes.” I stopped to think. I’ve seen and heard the phrase “Support our troops” but this was new to me. “Support our heroes"? I felt the need to bring attention to this.

Should we do our soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, and our country a small favor by thanking them for their service and letting them know we appreciate them? Yes. Should we call them a hero? Only if they deserve it. A snappy uniform -- or even dented body armor -- is not a magical shortcut to hero status.

A hero is someone who behaves selflessly, usually at considerable personal risk and sacrifice, to comfort or empower others and to make the world a better place. Heroes, of course, come in all sizes, shapes, ages and colors, most of them looking nothing like John Wayne or John Rambo or GI Joe (or Jane). It is at best a risky business to define someone as “extraordinary” simply by virtue of wearing a uniform. In fact, it is potentially dangerous as it makes it too easy to slip into the militaristic attitude that what soldiers do goes beyond “necessary evil" -- beyond even honorable to admirable, to something to celebrate -- an attitude that makes it all too easy to promote additional enlistments, additional weapons, and even additional wars.

What 'post-war period'?

Oct 24, 2011 at 10:23 AM

By Jayel Aheram

Bernie Quigley, in an op-ed piece for The Hill about the current crop of GOP candidates, said this:

Three of the Republican candidates for president, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman, are of the highest caliber, on a level we have barely seen in the post-war period.

What struck me as odd was not his analysis of these candidates (he is repeating the same tired line that the frontrunners are the only serious candidates), but the fact he referred to a “post-war period.”

I really hope he was referring to the period after World War II, because if not, I must ask: what "post-war period"?

This “post-war period” is a disgusting meme that will gain traction after Dec. 31 when the United States will withdraw its combat troops from Iraq (and leave behind thousands of private military thugs to continue the violence there). It must be noted that these departing American troops will not enjoy a “post-war period.” They will be redeployed into new theaters of combat to die in any one of our dozens of senseless wars in Afghanistan, Uganda, or the Philippines.

And that's not to mention Iraq itself, which will experience years of violence regardless of American presence. The bombings, the checkpoints, the sectarian strife, all of these will continue after “withdrawal.” There will be no “post-war period” for Iraqis.

That the end of Iraq War will bring about a “post-war period” is a nice fantasy, but it is an outright lie.

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A Bias Inherent in the System

Jan 19, 2011 at 1:51 PM

By Bonnie Kristian

Yep, sounds like public education.

Education is very important; this is why I don’t want the government playing teacher. I mean, honestly, all other criticisms of public schools aside, how do we expect to have a nation of people capable of examining government policy with in-depth critical thought if they are educated by that same government? There’s uhh…there’s a bit of an inherent bias there.

(Comic via)

Comments (1)

Liberty Versus "Patriotism"

Feb 13, 2010 at 8:58 PM

By Bonnie Kristian

Ivan Eland at the Independent Institute has a new article out on the "Stolen Valor Act," a law which exists to jail people for wearing military medals they did not personally earn. The act does not distinguish between those wearing the medals to for deceitful gain and those wearing them for other purposes, meaning that "a kid could be arrested for wearing old military medals as part of a Halloween costume."

Ridiculous, no? Nonetheless, "[d]ozens of people have been arrested" on such charges and sentenced with up to a year in jail. Eland comments on the gross distortion of patriotism which this kind of law represents:

Such excessive admiration of things military is quite the opposite of what the founders believed. They, almost to a man, were suspicious that large standing armies, such as those of 18th-century European monarchs, would be a major threat to liberty....
Liberty, for which our military men and women are supposed to be fighting, should trump nationalism, faux patriotism, and militarism. In fact, all of these things probably harm the U.S. military more than a wannabe hero making false claims about earning a martial medal.

The full article is available here.