Happy Memorial Day!
What is Memorial Day? Glad you asked. In America, we have two separate holidays to honor the sacrifices of our soldiers. One is Memorial Day, dedicated to the memory of soldiers who died in war, and the other is Veteran's Day, to honor those who survived. We honor our soldiers because they protect our nation's people from dangerous enemies who threaten our freedoms and way of life- or at least our standard of living. So, I dedicate this post to all the soldiers who died in WWII, all the soldiers of the North during the Civil War (sorry, South, you were wrong), and the Revolutionary War- way to stiff the tax man! I don't know enough about WWI, but looking at the Korean, Vietnamese and Gulf war, and military operations it is clear that soldiers in these wars were not protecting America from invaders. Seriously- Korea, Vietnam and Iraq never had the resources or intention to mount a military attack on our nation. None of them ever posed a credible threat to our freedoms. So what was the threat, the reason, for the involvement of our "Department of Defense" in those wars? Ostensibly it was for the defense of democracy abroad- that is, for the welfare of other citizens and the universal human freedoms we believe democracy brings. or at least that's how the wars are sold to the soldiers and congress and citizen-taxpayers. But really- what was with the whole cold war? it is understandable to fear Russia, which was developing a nuclear arsenal and space program. And maybe China, which is just so huge. But the domino theory? So what? The only danger there was that more countries would become miltary and trade allies of Russia, rather then us- and that could make trade, especially in the vulnerable and vital energy commodities, more difficult for the US. So there was a rationale that had our best economic interests at heart. But now, in modern times, our consumption has become so excessive as to warrant a close look at how our continued global dominance and economic clout, and the interaction between the two, namely big business and big military, is structured. There is a free flow of blood and oil, a rather open manipulation and interference in the affairs of foreign and allegedly sovereign nations, and the maintenance of artificially low energy prices which do not reflect the real costs, social an d environmental, of the extraction, processing and transportation of the oil- or the social costs- or the cost in lives.
So, to the dead from those wars that were truly battles against evil, I say: god bless! To those who fought in wars of conquest, wars of political strategy, wars for money, I express my deepest sorrow. As the most powerful nation in the world, we need to think very carefully before exercising our military might. No one can afford mistakes, and the end of our empire could come in an apocalypse- not from Saddam, but from those we've neglected to fight, or failed to fight effectively- the
nuclear pirates.
