the term 'veterans day' comes from an act of congress in 1954. before then, it was known as armistice day. on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 in compiègne france, an armistice was signed between germany and the western allies. for the west, it marked the end of what was then known as the great war and is now known as world war 1. never before had warfare been on such a grand scale.
if the holiday was still known as armistice day and celebrated the end of hostilities, i would take no issue. after all, war is a terrible thing. but even during the great war, there were mistakes. mistakes that had dire consequences.
before the US involvement in world war 1, the opposing forces had more or less fought themselves to a stale mate in the west. this balance of power was broken when woodrow wilson (who we have to 'thank' for wilsonianism and its legacy) decided it would be a great idea if the US had a seat at the negotiating table in what became the treaty of versailles. the combination of the US tipping the scales, and the restitutive nature of contemporary government's ideas on end-of-war treaties created the conditions that would lead to the next greatest conflict the world had ever known: world war 2. in fact, world war 2 could be considered blow-back from 'our' actions during world war 1.
it's becoming increasingly apparent to me that the majority of the world's wars have been mistakes. it seems as though the wrong people are always benefiting from them: the tyrants, the authoritarians, the big businessmen, the war mongers. the more i look into history and wars, the more i see this disturbing trend.
war is the health of the state. it automatically sets in motion throughout society those irresistible forces for uniformity, for passionate cooperation with the government in coercing into obedience the minority groups and individuals which lack the larger herd sense.
-randolph bourne, the state, 1918
it's interesting to me that this was known as far back as world war 1. the founders of the united states were highly critical of government, and penned the abuses the british government imposed on them in the declaration of independence. in fact, the abuses of power go back as far as the existence of mankind, and is where the phrase 'power corrupts' originates.
so how does the government amass increasing power? it creates fear in the populace; it starts wars; it raises up heroes, many from the ashes of war. and all the while, it erodes the freedoms and liberties of 'its' populace. we can see this in the latest war: the war on terror.
since this latest war began government can now: spy on the general populace with impunity (the PATRIOT act); threaten the involuntary government agents (banks, internet service providers, google), and tell them they cannot inform their customers that government is spying on them (another provision of the PATRIOT act); confiscate firearms from peaceful 'citizens' (hurricane katrina), as well as the plethora of other rights violations during that fiasco; prop up businesses that are deemed 'too big to fail' (TARP); create 'money' out of nothing thus effectively stealing from everyone that holds federal reserve notes (the federal reserve); unduly molest people excising their right to travel in spite of the constitutional ban on unwarranted searches and seizures (TSA); imprison anyone it pleases and hold them indefinitely on terrorist charges (guantanimo bay); assassinate whoever they deem to be a terrorist (osama bin laden, anwar al awlaki) as well as whoever happens to be in their general vicinity at the time of the assassination. this is not a complete list, nor is this power aggregation limited to the post-2001 era.
i'm told i went to afghanistan to 'fight for freedom'. who's freedom? the US is quickly becoming a police state. what i did in afghanistan did nothing to arrest this trend. in fact, this tyranny has been enabled by the warfare apparatus i am a part of. thank a veteran? NO, DON'T THANK ME!!! the notion that veterans are some kind of heroes is a lie! we are not heroes; we are cogs in the machine of big government.
veterans day...what a bunch crap. this is a holiday where government wants 'its people' to worship those it deems heroes. because if people worship government's heroes, that's just one step away from worshiping government itself. that is what government really wants: it wants your worship, your obedience, your undying reverence. so long as people continue to blindly follow government dictates, wealth and power can continue to be usurped from the individuals to which it rightly belongs. this is why today's celebrations are so insidious.
a hero of war
is that what they see
just metals and scars
so damn proud of me
but i'll carry that flag
to the grave if i must
cause it's a flag that i love
it's the only flag i trust
-rise against, hero of war
No comments:
Post a Comment