Every now and then I have to vent. This is one of them “now and thens.” Pardon the rant.
Thought--Wouldn’t it be great if some day America held an election and no one came? Fact is: The fraud of the “two-party system” becomes clearer and clearer with every election. Let’s face it: The more we vote the worse things get. No matter which side of the same coin is elected, a Democrat or Republican, the standard of living in America falls, the number of wars rise, corruption increases, happiness decreases, and, of course, we go another trillion or two in debt. So, unless there is a viable Third Party candidate, this tax-paying, bike-riding, Walmart shopping American is not voting next year. As I see it, by staying away from the polls I will for the first time in my life become a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. Last time I looked, fifty percent of Americans or more felt as I do.
Another thought--Why is it that we must always witness soldiers and sailors marching in the flag at sporting events? Who gave these people a corner on “patriotism?” Why must patriotism always be associated with wars and murder? Why not allow doctors or firemen or brick layers or electricians or students or housewives to present the colors? After all, do they not too represent America? Indeed, are there not many more of us than the soldiers and sailors? Do not we also make a nation strong and safe?
The reason members of the armed forces always must represent us, of course, is that the old America has been usurped by the same “Military-Industrial Complex” that outgoing President Eisenhower warned us about; we have been taken over not by the peace-makers, but by the war-mongers; we have been hijacked by those with a vested interest in perpetual war. Indeed, the average tattooed American sitcom-watcher is so busy waving flags, tying yellow ribbons, supporting troops, honoring heroes, and threatening the world with destruction, that “peace” is a word hardly heard anymore.
Expressing the wishes of the media, all the presidential candidates, with the exception of Ron Paul, are bible-beating, desk-pounding war-mongers. TV runs an endless list of old war movies reminding us how glorious war is; there is even a military channel showing all the up-to-date and fun ways we might murder other people. One cannot watch a sporting event on TV w/o several military recruitment commercials trying to woo the young and the dumb to join “the few and the proud” or to join the navy and be “a force for good around the world” (“Good,” of course, depends on which side of the sidewinder missile you happen to be on). Video games are all about combat and slaughter, past, present and future, and impressionable teens snap them up. Our holidays—Christmas, included--have become little more than war commemoration days in which we give solemn thanks to all the “heroes” who keep us safe from all those bad boogie men around the world. “Peace on earth, good will toward men” is now but a quaint slogan with zero modern relevance.
“Support the Troops!” This phrase has become the universal cry. Why? Why support the troops any more than we support the cops, the firemen, the sanitation workers, the school teachers, and so on?
“Support the Troops . . . They are fighting for our freedoms.” Ho, ho, ho! Sorry, but NO ONE five thousand miles away killing with drones and missiles is fighting for my freedom. Last time I looked no one any where in the world was trying to deprive me of my freedoms except perhaps my very own federal government. And so, until we come to our senses—not likely--or suffer a defeat so deadly and devastating that no American will even mention the word “War” for a hundred years—very likely—I expect to see so-called “heroes” in military uniform cranking out the flag before every sporting event.
Apology--I wish I could say that my anti-war impulses were all humanity-based and spring from motives benign. Alas, my hatred of these innumerable and non-stop wars are mostly self-serving, viz., I fly a lot, I travel a lot, I move in other countries a lot—I would like to continue to do so without being killed simply because “my” bloody-minded government thinks murdering people around the globe 24/7 is just jim-dandy. Indeed, I can think of no other nation on the planet more geared toward war and destruction than this one!
The American military neither defines me nor speaks for me. Had I the power I would bring home virtually all U.S. troops from around the globe, find them good civilian jobs or place them on our southern border with Mexico. Not only would this move save U.S. taxpayers trillions and trillions and stop millions and millions from invading us, but it would help heal all the angry scars we have created around the world.
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