Turning
On The War
By Joshua Frank
17 January, 2007
Countercurrents.org
It
really is a blunder that my generation (20-somethings), and those to
come after it, will have to atone for for decades to come. Blood. Death.
Occupation. The remnants of imperial greed. Policies run amuck. Perhaps
an empire can only function when it is dysfunctional. A kind of serial-killer
on life support. In this case taxes. Indeed chaos is the natural pattern
of villainous deeds, and America has blood stained hands.
The United States is not
really even an empire anyway, as Slavoj Zizek recently put it in the
New York Times, “That is, while pretending to be an empire, it
continues to act like a nation-state, ruthlessly pursuing its interests.”
Even so, the “Land of the Free” still does as it pleases,
despite international opposition and common sense.
I think the ol’ adage
that proclaims we should obey our elders is just a bunch of hogwash.
What if our elders, those whom we should respect, tell us to kill? To
murder? To vanquish entire cultures and religions? To tear men from
their loved ones and detain them in off-shore prisons where they will
never be charged with an actual crime? Are we still supposed to obey
the authority that tells us to do this for the health of the country?
To accept it as the reality of war? I say no. Yet, ads on television
and in our public schools prey on our youth to sign up for the U.S.
armed forces as way to see the world, pay for education and succeed
in life.
I don’t blame the kids
who think the military is the answer to their mounting woes. They’ve
been lied to, inundated with patriotic babble about country and God,
while their commanders order them off into battle from the safety of
Washington board rooms. Voting won’t stop the nonsense either.
As President Bush calls for more troops in Iraq the Democrats still
can’t fancy a thought on the subject of their own. They seem to
realize we need the troops out, but haven’t the slightest idea
how to go about doing it. Redeployment, as Rep. Jack Murtha has called
for, still won’t bring our troops home.
It seems the only way the
war will come to an end will be when soldiers start resisting by the
droves. It’s already happening with little fanfare all across
the country. Many are finding refuge in Canada and elsewhere. These
brave soldiers must be congratulated for taking such a path. They are
the answer the antiwar movement has been looking for. Let’s hope
they lead by example. If their peers don’t follow, we are in for
a much longer, deadlier war.
Making sense of it all isn’t
easy, especially for those who have seen the mess first hand. I’m
happy to say I haven’t. Nor do I ever want to, no matter how much
better the government pays than this writing gig. Deep down Bush must
know that more troops there will only lead to more deaths, more collateral
damage. More anguish for families everywhere. It has to stop. And the
best way to end the war isn’t to march around in the streets on
our designated day of dissent. Rather, the best way to help stop the
madness is to get military recruiters off our school campuses. Plain
and simple. No longer should the marketers of death be allowed to sell
war to students.
I know this little polemic
isn’t going to end this mess Bush and his allies have created.
When my generation and the soldiers in Iraq turn on this war by refusing
to return, only then will it come to a screeching halt.
Joshua Frank
is the author of Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush
and edits www.BrickBurner.org
Leave
A Comment
&
Share Your Insights