Thank you for reading.
From your remarks I don’t think you understood the deeper points of my piece.
Veterans Day in not so obvious as to be a “celebration of war” — it is much more insidious.
It is one of many (I listed them) celebrations whose underlying purpose is to promote blind patriotism, and acceptance and support of the U.S. military-industrial-media complex’s involvement in Perpetual War.
(As Phil Ochs so eloquently exposed in the song I included: “One More Parade”.)
Why would my views be tempered by seeing some guys in camaraderie with others of like mind, enjoying a free meal which is being served in their support — certainly this day in particular, in that setting, would be no time for real deep critical questions asked about what they did and why. Or what the next batch will be called to do amidst the 750 U.S. military bases around the world — especially as the U.S. tries provoking China and others.
I did mention the Veterans for Peace — but that stand is certainly a small minority in a culture that is so deeply entrenched in militarism. Box office records were broken with Top Gun. George Carlin was always on the money, and the quote I included in the piece summed it up.
You say that “not all veterans are right-wing Trump/Bush supporters” —as if it’s only among Republicans that militarism thrives. In my piece I called out Obama, and am calling out The Somnambulist.
None of these elected officials represent the people—they primarily serve their wealthy donors (Lockheed Martin and BlackRock investors).
I was a registered Democrat through all of my 50+ voting years — even through the conniving machinations they pulled (Wasserman-Schultz in 2016, Obama in 2020) to make sure that Bernie Sanders didn’t win, and the pathetic neoliberal HRC was elevated.
Biden siphoned billions upon billions into the proxy war with Russia. And then the Democrats decided that The Somnambulist was going to be their candidate in 2024—no competition, no debates. Earlier this year I registered as unaffiliated.
The branch I “served” was the one that refused whatsoever to cooperate with the Selective Service which was running the Vietnam Death Lottery. My “service” —and yes I “sacrificed” to take that stand—was to say no, speak truth to power, and help stop that illegal nightmare.
I only “write with authority” about my own experiences and through my 71 years of critically-thinking observations on the U.S. and its reliance on military force to pursue foreign policy goals — which can and should be achieved more effectively by other means.
I end with Major General Smedley Butler — the most decorated Marine in U.S. history —and an excerpt from his 1935 work — “War Is A Racket”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzr5pW21a7U
Again, thanks for reading
