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Madre de dios
May. 21st, 2003 11:10 pmAlright, I admit, I have a somewhat strange fascination with the military wives communities here on LJ. I don't know if it's a genuine curiosity (something akin to craning one's neck at car wrecks wondering what the extent of the carnage might be), a temptation to feel self-righteous, or a sincere desire to understand how people who are otherwise normal, considerate human beings (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt) can be so prone to jingoism and willful ignorance.
I just read an entry decrying all pacifists as traitors, immigrants as terrorists, and soldiers as heros--they are, afterall, "defending" our country over there.
And I ask, what the hell?
Even the most rudimentary study of American foreign affairs reveals that the man in the white hat is a myth. We ARE the aggressor with precious few exceptions. There isn't a soldier in this war that has in his or her own political memory an incident where the US was defending itself...and yet this is the banner they march under, this is their rallying cry. Can anyone be so ignorant? I suppose one must dellude themselves with something, but with such a bold faced lie? Madre de dios.
And I realize that there are different ideologies to consider and different interpretations of history and current events...but can anyone, honestly, believe that their participation in this war can be attributed to any noble cause? That racism and fascism are acceptable under this auspice? How do people who would otherwise be inncucous Walmart shoppers turn into such vitriolic conservative commentators on the pages of LJ?
Is war that powerful or am I just that naive?
*sigh*
It's a pointless rant, I know, but it's on my mind.
I just read an entry decrying all pacifists as traitors, immigrants as terrorists, and soldiers as heros--they are, afterall, "defending" our country over there.
And I ask, what the hell?
Even the most rudimentary study of American foreign affairs reveals that the man in the white hat is a myth. We ARE the aggressor with precious few exceptions. There isn't a soldier in this war that has in his or her own political memory an incident where the US was defending itself...and yet this is the banner they march under, this is their rallying cry. Can anyone be so ignorant? I suppose one must dellude themselves with something, but with such a bold faced lie? Madre de dios.
And I realize that there are different ideologies to consider and different interpretations of history and current events...but can anyone, honestly, believe that their participation in this war can be attributed to any noble cause? That racism and fascism are acceptable under this auspice? How do people who would otherwise be inncucous Walmart shoppers turn into such vitriolic conservative commentators on the pages of LJ?
Is war that powerful or am I just that naive?
*sigh*
It's a pointless rant, I know, but it's on my mind.
