If you have the time, it's worth listening to this whole clip.
If you have the time, it's worth listening to this whole clip. Yes, even though it's 15 minutes. If nothing else, watch Costas from 7:40 to 9:00 minutes.
We all respect their sacrifice, we all honor their sacrifice. And yet, what it has come to mean is that the flag is primarily and only about the military ... but there's never a school teacher, there's never a social worker. Patriotism comes in many forms and what has happened is that it's been conflated with with kind of a bumper sticker kind of flag-waving and with the military only.
I would even argue that it's a false test to demand that you support the military. Why? Because a coerced and threatened support for the military only obtains if you live in a military dictatorship, or an aristocratic dictatorship where the aristocracy is also the officer corps, and therefore you are a traitor to that dictatorship if you do not support the military. That is the antithesis of American foundational values.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/costas-new-day-cnntv/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/costas-new-day-cnntv/index.html
We all respect their sacrifice, we all honor their sacrifice. And yet, what it has come to mean is that the flag is primarily and only about the military ... but there's never a school teacher, there's never a social worker. Patriotism comes in many forms and what has happened is that it's been conflated with with kind of a bumper sticker kind of flag-waving and with the military only.
I would even argue that it's a false test to demand that you support the military. Why? Because a coerced and threatened support for the military only obtains if you live in a military dictatorship, or an aristocratic dictatorship where the aristocracy is also the officer corps, and therefore you are a traitor to that dictatorship if you do not support the military. That is the antithesis of American foundational values.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/costas-new-day-cnntv/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/costas-new-day-cnntv/index.html
Yeah, I'm pretty tired of the idea that saying you support the military is obligatory. I don't particularly support the military... as an institution I'd say I'm neutral on them at best, I think we spend too much money on them and they should be subject to an audit. They're definitely necessary, but so are a lot of other parts of our government. I think we should take care of our veterans, but I think we should take care of all our other citizens too.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fine to separate supporting individuals in the military from supporting the government policies behind their use.
ReplyDeleteI object to worshipping and objectifying militarism, and I object to living in a Heinlein novel where my citizenship and rights are predicated on unquestioning support of and ideally participation in endless, pointless wars whose purpose and benefits are unclear.