Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
They told you all about the noble cause for which you fight and the urgency of this holy war to save freedom. Saddam Hussein is aligned with al-Qaeda. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. You will be greeted as liberators. The mission was "accomplished" by May 2003.
Cue Demi's boyfriend, soldier, because you've been punk'd. "Military
men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy,"
said Henry Kissinger and now, today's grunts are part of this storied
American tradition.
From
Shays Rebellion in 1787 -- long before the cries of "support the troops"
became commonplace during every brutal U.S. military intervention -- to
the quarter-million homeless vets today, the powers-that-be made it
clear how little they intended to follow their own counsel. For
example, in an ironic twist, American pilots who were taken as
prisoners of war during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 were held and
tortured at none other than -- drum roll, please -- the Abu Ghraib prison.
Many of those same pilots were eventually awarded nearly $1 billion
from Iraq as compensation for their ordeal. Bringing the irony to a
level that would startle even Alanis Morissette, the Bush
administration fought a legal battle to prevent those American veterans
from collecting one thin dime. The rationale, according to the Los
Angeles Times, was brutally simple: "Today's Iraqis are good guys, and
they need the money."
In
the face of such unambiguous contempt, Americans continue to enlist.
But why should this surprise anyone? We grow up watching war movies and
playing with guns. We're surrounded by war memorials and war monuments,
and are taught to respect and fear those in uniform. We witness the
demonizing of those who oppose war. Our media is overrun with
militaristic fervor. Our tax dollars finance war and pro-war
propaganda. Our government passes laws designed to thwart dissent.
Even
if we remain immune to wartime spin and propaganda -- even if we don't buy
into the story that America has been dragged into conflict after
conflict and perpetually left with no choice but to wage a humanitarian
war against a savage enemy -- we still face the guilt factor of the
"support the troops" peer pressure: No matter what we think or how we
feel, once the actual fighting begins, all Americans must unite behind
our troops to insure their safety through victory. After all, what kind
of American turns his or her back on the brave men and women in
uniform-the noble men and women putting their lives at risk so we can
enjoy our freedoms-the courageous men and women glorified by countless
films and video games and toys?
Okay,
son, just sign right here and you'll be spreading democracy before you
can say: "depleted uranium." Look at them yellow ribbons, son, your
country is mighty proud of you.
Punch
line: The "support the troops" mantra specifically ignores any real
examination of who those troops are, what those troops are doing, and
why someone might not want them waging war. In reality, when we're told
to "support the troops," we are, in essence, being compelled to support
the policies that put those troops in harm's way.
America... consider yourselves punk'd.
***
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
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