Letters to the Editor
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This author is from another planet . . .
. . . where progressives have a problem with the military. No, we have a problem with *militarism* -- the abuse of our armed forces in unwise adventures to compensate for certain politicians' personal cowardice and as an expression of political intimidation.
. . . where John Kerry said that people who didn't work hard in college get sent to Iraq. NO -- he was talking about George W. Bush, who didn't work hard in college, and got so ignorant that he decided on the basis of ignorance and arrogance to send OTHERS to Iraq.
. . . where the public holds the military responsible for Abu Ghraib and other atrocities, yet still approves of it. No -- they realize that these atrocities were committed on orders from the Bush administration. One of the many right-wing myths the author internalizes is that these atrocities were the fault of the soldiers, not the political higher-ups.
Much of what the author says about the military itself is true. But his caricature of progressives' viewpoints rings thuddingly, clangingly false. The caricature may be prevalent where he grew up. It doesn't make it true.
Look at what actual progressives and conservatives THINK. Look at what their positions are -- i.e., the gutting of veterans' benefits by the Bush Administration, the declaration by John McCain that he will keep troops dying in a pointless fraud of a war "for a hundred years". And THEN tell me who has more respect for the men and women in uniform.
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The military fetish
The US is probably the only democracy in the world in which presidential elections are routinely influenced by assessments of whether a candidate would make "a good commander in chief." It is as if a permanent state of war, or at least a permanent expectation of war, is a natural state of affairs in a country without powerful or threatening neighbors.
Other than that, the military fetish that Astore describes is not peculiarly American - it exists in several contemporary states, such as India, Israel and Turkey. The reasons are not identical, but they all involve a measure of popular disgust with the institutions of civilian society, especially the world of politics and government, which are perceived as corrupt, self-serving and fragmented. In contrast, the military seems idealistic and heroic, its corruptions, incompetencies and brutalities veiled by the cult of "national security."
Also, perhaps obviously, populist militarism tends to thrive in countries that have not been recently devastated by war. In these societies, war can be promoted as entertaining without the impediment of national guilt and memories of shattered cities: trauma on the scale of Dresden and Hiroshima, not Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Center, and guilt on the scale of the Holocaust and Nanjing, not Abu Ghraib or Haditha or even My Lai. I would speculate that until America undergoes something that destroys the credibility of militarist entertainment, "war hero" presidential candidates will continue to sing "Bomb, bomb Iran" to audiences of simpering reporters.
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Military and altruism
There was an extremely fascinating article in Harper's a year or two ago. It's called "Army of Altruists" by John Graeber. One of the article's key points, which I was rather surprised not to see explored in this essay, is that one primary reason working-class people join the military is that it's seen a chance for them to contribute to society. If you think about the job opportunities available to average Americans today, most involve working in some way or another for the corporate world. As the author mentions, working-class kids aren't being pushed to become human rights lawyers, for example. Even teaching isn't all that attractive an option, given the college requirements and relative pay. The military is one of the few options for behaving in an altruistic manner. I think this argument is the most relatable way for liberals to look at the issue.
In any case I can't recommend Graeber's essay highly enough.
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Sparta redux
The heinous Pat Tillman murder recalls ancient Sparta where Spartan war heroes were routinely executed for the good of the Spartan army, because anonymous heroism was expected of every Spartan every day.
The concept of a Spartan hero was not only an oxymoron, it was a mortal threat to the survival of Sparta itself, by providing an imprimatur for something less.
Unfortunately, George W. Bush is no Spartan, and his post-911 exhortation to traumatized Americans was a similar mortal threat to the survival of America itself.
In effect, W. said: "Americans. Go about your consumption of imported trinkets from China and Germany. Continue spending yourself into moral and fiscal bankruptcy!"
Bush blew his chance to raise an American Spartan army to seek revenge.
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Altruism cot'd
Well, the html didn't work there, but here's the link. Otherwise, if you Google John Graeber altruism, it's the first listing.
http://ryanlanham.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/harpers-by-david-graeber-is-america-a-nation-of-frustrated-altruists/
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America is an Evil Empire
And we should either do away with its army or with its cities.
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Military dominance
In this current period of history, we have pursued a foreign policy that demands military action. This does not prevent the military from reprioritizing its own initatives and plans. The USAF still wants to replace F15 with F22 and beyond. In addition because or our initatives in Iraq it love to build a permanent USAF base in Iraq. Our liberal faction would love nothing better to end this situation.
I believe that the end of this crisis is a change in foreign policy, and not a change in cultural values. I agree with the author however, the military is ahead of our society in race relations, and will appeal to young men who want to find success in physical action and not educational success. This is becasue of a core value of our military, which is get the job done, get the mission done. So unless the mission or job of our military changes, it will contine to have the esteem of our general population and not our liberal population.
Finally, the Berkley City Council, CA, passing a general resolution on the USMC recruiter in their city as unwanted, and criminal in action, only increase the dismissal by the US public on liberal politics
VSS