Some will take this the
wrong way, but I want to make a few observations regarding one of the top
headlines from the past twelve months. I wrote this at the time but never
published it. Almost a year later and with the 4th of July
approaching...it's worth revisiting.
Apparently on 6 August
2011 some thirty American soldiers and eight Afghan soldiers were killed when
their helicopter was shot down. This was one of the worst single-incident
losses of life for American troops during the Afghan War and the media gave
this event a massive amount of attention.
Of course the sheer numbers
makes it newsworthy, in addition to the fact that most or all of these
Americans were members of the Special Forces.
This single event
provides a great example to demonstrate several things.
First, the media, the
excoriated 'liberal' media doesn't look very liberal at all when it comes to
covering America's wars. American deaths are profiled and fawned over while the
thousands and tens of thousands of Afghan and Iraqi deaths are largely
ignored...let alone the additional multitudes that have died as an indirect
result of American policies...i.e. the destabilization of these respected
countries and region.
These people receive no
sympathy, they are not to be objects of empathy, and the media acting in the
role of establishment gatekeeper makes sure the wars are covered in a way that
always encourages American support if not for the war itself, at least for the
soldiers participating in them.
Christian commentators
are no different. With Obama's announcement of the Iraq withdrawal (now quickly
becoming a distant memory) considerable analysis was provided by the media, and
from 'Christian' circles...critique. A time for reflection we're told after
nearly nine years of warfare. We're told to consider the 4500 American deaths,
the tremendous costs, and so forth. We're told to think about this all from a
Biblical Worldview. Again, no mention of the tens of thousands of civilian
deaths. No, according to Southern Baptist Leader Albert Mohler the Biblical
Worldview is that we're to be thankful that an evil dictator is gone and that
there are no longer any capabilities for him to produce Weapons of Mass
Destruction. No mention of civilian deaths. No mention of the lies and deceit.
No mention of the waste of life, money, and destruction.
Second, it attaches
emotionalism to the issue and refuses to raise the salient questions... and
this subjective analysis trickles down into the public consciousness....why?
Why are these Americans there? No one asks, at least not in the media.
We are constantly fed
by both Secular and Christian media the same Orwellian lines...they're
protecting and defending our freedom.
Right after this event
(the helicopter being shot down) occurred, Al Mohler in his daily commentary expressed
as much as well as our local Christian radio station the wrongly named Family
Life Network.
Mohler employed the
often repeated line about how he wouldn't be able to have his radio programme
if it were not for the sacrifices of our brave armed forces?
Really? So...in
countries where they don't have militaries engaged all around the world and
spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year...they don't have radio shows? Too
bad for them I guess.
I didn't realize
countries like Paraguay, Ethiopia, Canada, Ireland, and Thailand didn't have
radio programmes. I guess if they do...they need to thank the United States
military right?
These kinds of
statements are repeated so often no one stops and thinks about how absurd they
are.
Am I defending the
Taliban? Of course not. They're a wretched evil lot just like the American
regime that went to war with them. The rationale for this war though is pretty
astounding.
Did the Taliban attack
the United States on 11 September? No.
Were any of the
hijackers Afghan citizens? No.
But the Taliban were
harbouring an enemy of the United States.
I think this argument
heads in a direction most people don't want to go.
For example consider
things from the Iranian standpoint for a moment.
In 1953, The Shah was
installed by the United States after Mossaddegh was forced from office. He
proceeded to brutalize the Iranian people for the next twenty-five years. His
secret police tortured and killed people and in time became viewed as an enemy
to his own people.
When the Ayatollah
'liberated' Iran...yes, they can use the politico-speak as well...the Shah fled
and eventually ended up in the United States.
So from the Iranian
standpoint the United States was harbouring this brutal killer, a terrorist?...and
for that matter has harboured many dictators over the years. Using the same
kind of argument, then Iran would be justified in attacking the United States,
because like the Taliban, the United States was harbouring a mass-killer.
This of course is
absurd. No one here or in the international community would buy the argument.
But the Taliban are bad
people and do evil things, so the United States is permitted to use these types
of arguments.
The United States has
committed numerous crimes and has killed more people than the Taliban, Bin
Laden, and the Iranian regime combined, so reasoning this way doesn't really
help, at least in terms of morality... unless your concept of morality is tied
to violence, force or to some kind of blind allegiance to state power.
The American narrative
is biased and refuses to be objective or honest. This is normal. Most countries
do this with regard to current events and certainly with regard to history.
But why are the
Christians in the United States the most gullible when it comes to this? Why
are they the most supportive?
We can't abandon
Afghanistan because Al Qaeda could set up there once again.
This kind of argument
is also fruitless because this leads to one thing...by necessity we're forced
to dominate the world. Because if it's not Afghanistan, it's Somalia, or Sudan,
or Yemen, or Venezuela, or Kosovo, or Syria, or Nigeria, or Mexico...it never
ends.
I guess the United
States just has to conquer the world.
That's the telos (the
end result or culmination) of this kind of thinking. In order to be safe, we
have to dominate the entire earth. And those who aid us in this
domination...they're serving us and defending our liberty.
This kind of thinking
is not just morally bankrupt, it is deranged.
How did directly and
indirectly killing thousands of civilians liberate Iraq or Afghanistan?
How are American
soldiers invading countries that have not attacked us nor have the capability
to attack us....serving us?
How do we as
individuals or as a society benefit from these actions?
We have to take the
fight to them, many say. But if you listen to these people, the radicals and
terrorists coming out of these countries, the reason they're fighting us is
because....we've invaded their countries at present, we have in the past, and
we have directly or indirectly manipulated affairs in their countries and
regions leading to death and destruction. From their standpoint the United
States is the aggressor. The 11 September attacks were a flea striking back at
an elephant...a guerilla attack laden with symbolism to teach a lesson.
They don't understand
the American public very well. It wasn't going to work.
Who benefits from these
wars? Our society? At this point we are swamped with debt and obligations that
have drained our society. Everyone points a finger of blame...but few blame the
cost of these wars, much of which has been hidden. Conservatives call for more
military spending, though we on paper outspend the next 17 countries or so
combined, and in reality when you take in the entire Military-State Department
complex we spend more than the rest of the world combined. That's staggering
and all the more when you think that there are so many who want to continue
increasing our military budget. Calling it a 'defense' budget is as Orwellian
as you could possibly be.
The Empire is literally
breaking our society. People have got to start reading Roman history. The
parallels are more than a little fascinating.
There is massive money
in war, but not for you or me. War is like a massive subsidy for the wealthy in
this country. Scores of companies and industries benefit from the death and
destruction war brings. They and their shareholders have done very well over
the past decade.
The American soldiers
are serving these corporations and the political parasites who lust for power,
and yet these people at the top are the least interested in the welfare of
these pawns. Sadly, many in the military are people from depressed areas
looking for a way out. I live in Rust Belt Appalachia and the recruiters are
very active in this area. There are hordes of kids whose only future is either
in drugs and petty crime, a minimum wage job, or the military. They're not
heroes. In many cases, they're dupes.
But our army isn't evil
and destructive, like that of other countries. We help people and do good
things....
Ask the people of
Vietnam, or the people of Iraq. Remember from 1991-2003 the United States
regularly bombed that country. They and the people of the Balkans, and soon
enough the people of Afghanistan are suffering not just the destruction of
their water and electrical infrastructures, but the toxic effects of our
weapons. Depleted Uranium will be causing cancers and birth defects for many
years to come. Ask the Vietnamese. They didn't have to deal with Depleted Uranium,
but they are still suffering the effects of Agent Orange, Napalm and other
horrors the United States employs...all the while condemning other countries
for using or even possessing like substances.
Go on YouTube and watch
the videos of American soldiers demeaning Iraqis, mocking them, destroying
things. War is war. It's always been this way. It brings out the most wicked
aspects of fallen humanity. It's sick and evil, and any soldier who has seen it
and reflected on it even a little will affirm as much.
So no Al Mohler, I will
not pause to breath a prayer of thanksgiving for the brave men and women who
serve our country that we can be free. I will not cater to such lies, nor the
sick people who promote them.
Go to part 2
Go to part 2