General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)The problem of our military worshipping culture [View all]
It was interesting to see so many violent reactions in another thread about a military tradition of an honor guard, and how many people were aghast that some were not properly respectful and admiring of our great military and its grand heroes. Even supposed left leaning Democrats were sounding a bit right winger-ish, tossing around terms like "unpatriotic" and so on for the apparently unpardonable sin that some posters didn't seem to feel awe and reverence for the pomp and ceremony of a military tradition.
This worship of all things military seems deeply ingrained into our culture, with this theme pounded into our psyche almost daily. I always remember what I find to be a particularly repellent commercial/public service message that seems to play often around Christmas, where in an airport some soldiers are walking through, apparently having just got off a plane, and spontaneous applause breaks out and spreads among the regular citizens who are in the airport and notice the soldiers. I just find this eye-rolling in its blatant propagandist message personally.
By putting this concept of {military = patriotism and heroes} implanted so deep into the people, we of course are much more likely to support wars and military action, because after all, you have to support the troops, right? If you don't then you are just being a low-life and must hate America, or so the thinking and messaging goes. It's even a bit insidious how this all works, in my humble opinion. Anyones' opinions on this topic are welcome.