General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)At what point does military worship become dangerous? [View all]
There are varying degrees of military worship - the Third Reich practically turned the SS into gods among men in propaganda.
Then you can go to countries like Costa Rica that do not even have an army.
We are somewhere in between the two, but at times I fear the constant military tie ins on the news is taking us in this direction.
I don't think military worship is a safe road for us to travel. To be completely honest, it is relatively new to Americans - it wasn't always so.
IT seemed like it started during WWII but never ended when the war did.
"Support the Troops" has become a litmus test for many, and any time an atrocity caused by them happens, many are stumbling over each other to point out this was "one bad apple" and certainly "there is no problem with the rest of the barrel so please stop looking over there."
And it is a form of blind faith.
I realize not every person in the military commits atrocities.
But you take men and women, at their prime physical peak years, train them to kill in the most efficient way possible - what would you expect? That they wouldn't climb over that metaphorical bridge from "killing under orders and "killing?"
Sadly, it seems every decade we become more militarized, more of a threat to the world and ourselves. Let's not kid ourselves - this is what killed the USSR. It wasn't Reagan, and it wasn't Nixon, but they killed themselves by over-militarizing and overreaching.
To the military worshippers out there, let me suggest a reading. It was written by a veteran of several wars who rose to the rank of Major General. His name was Smedly Butler, and the book he wrote was "War is a Racket."
I suggest you take a look....
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=war+is+a+racket+by+smedly+butler