America is a
militarized society.
It has been
this way since the days of Ronald Reagan....and it has become worse
ever since.
But it is a
form of semi-concealed militarism, so ubiquitous and subtle it is not
noticed by most Americans.
For starters,
Americans are not really asked to 'sacrifice' anything (at least not
yet). There is no better example than George Bush's encouragement to
fly, take vacations, travel, shop and have a good time a short time
after 9/11, right at the beginning of 'The War on Terror.'
That's right,
live it up, have fun and enjoy life, just remember...we are at war.
It's surprising
to say Hitler attempted the same thing with the Germans (upon whom he
had recently poured all the nifty extras the modern socialist welfare
state) right up until he invaded Russia without bothering about total
mobilization (something England had done right at the beginning). In
fact, Hitler did not even bother encumbering the German population
with the hardships of total mobilization until 1943 (even newcomer
America done so a year earlier)!
You see, Hitler
wanted to remain popular and carry out all his military adventures
without resorting to the politically unpopular act of total
mobilization, scarcity and hardship...which all total war requires.
Sort of like us
today.
That's right.
Enjoy your
backyard barbecues, shopping, holidays, vacations and fine TV
programming...all while America engages in armed conflict the world
over.
Just make sure
you salute the flag and our parading troops on cue.
Yes indeed.
America has
become a militarized society subconsciously immersed in worship of
militaria.
What I outline
below are the ways in which this is happening (some of which might
actually surprise you).
Please read on.
A militarized
society is not what one might assume it is at first glance.
Here we go:
THE SURPRISE
HOMECOMING SEGMENT
The time for
our daily minute of military indoctrination has arrived.
The newscaster
smiles warmly.
He or she says
they have a very special heart-warming story before closing.
But we already
know what it is, right?
The setting
switches over to a school, or a house some other mundane location,
where children are congregating.
Suddenly a door
opens...or giant box shows up on the doorstep...or the ice cream
truck pulls up...or something else happens....and out into the open
and to the complete shock and awe of a child here daddy shows up in a
complete military combat uniform.
As our hearts
grow warm with joy, the Army veteran in combat uniform takes up and
embraces his child through tears of joy of Mom and jr.
End of scene.
Before we break
away from this scene, lets analyze it a bit, shall we?
How was the
network notified that the father was about to show up 'by surprise'
at his family and or kid's doorstep?
Furthermore,
how is it that the man gets a 'surprise' leave in the first place.
Anyone in the
military (especially in active duty) knows that there is a pre-set
time in which you will be either granted leave or be slated to return
from deployment.
You know it,
your family knows it, and everyone waits expectantly for that one
date.
There is no
surprise.
The Army does
not like surprises and does not accommodate or grant any (except when
it comes to involuntarily extending your enlistment or cutting your
pay).
So somehow we
are supposed to believe that this NCO or CO got a surprise leave from
the war zone in the middle of a deployment.
Having
swallowed that, we are then supposed to believe the TV network just
coincidentally got a hold of that fact and homed in for the scoop.
How exactly did
that happen?
Did hubby call
mommy and mommy call the network to let them in on the surprise
visit? Or did she film it and then give the network the tape. Or did
the network just run across the entire scheme by chance?
And why is the
guy always dressed in a full battle dress uniform or BDU? Why is he
not wearing a polo shirt and jeans, you know, the way a dad normally
looks?
Nope, when
daddy shows up, he is always the incarnation of the WARRIOR, in full
battle uniform, come home to be with his wholesome American family
(big, strong and tall too).
The truth?
The whole thing
is a repetitious psyop (psychological operation) designed to ingrain
the militaristic concept in the American television viewing mind.
The message?
There are
several.
First of all:
“There is a war going on” - this is why daddy is not home and
when he does show up, he is in a combat uniform (we don't want the
American public to forget that we are 'at war' and that our troops
are 'deploying' on a regular basis and that it is OUR war).
Second: “American soldiers are all good, wholesome, sweet, warm, caring dads” like the one you see on the segments (not war criminals or murderers abusing occupied populations).
Third:
“Sacrifice” it obvious the family is 'sacrificing' by letting dad
be away for months or years on end and is so very glad and thankful
when the STATE grants him a few surpise weeks with them.
Fourth: “The
Troops are happy” Don't you see the wide, happy, warm, content and
easygoing smile on the dads face? You might think he was coming home
from work at 6 pm. And please note it's only Jr that cries, never dad
(say, because he is missing seeing his children grow up or becoming
unable to bond with them or because one of these days he might be
coming home a cripple or not coming back at all). Naw, dad never
cries, that would be a sign of weakness...and unhappiness with the
state.
These scenes of
happy reunion are shown over and over again without the American
population realizing they are being the indoctrinated through
carefully crafted state propaganda.
SUPPORT OUR
TROOPS
Just about the
dumbest generalization I have even heard is “support our troops.”
They even
created a symbol (a yellow ribbon) to represent this.
And how do you
support our troops?
By cheering the
troops at parades, applauding and agreeing with every deployment the
government comes up with, not criticizing any burgeoning war, and
supporting the government on any military decision it might take.
To do otherwise
would NOT be supporting our troops.
What do you
think would happen if we didn't support our troops by doing all these
things?
Why, we would
increase the morale of the Taliban. Our troops would burst into tears
when they hear we don't support their new deployment.
You want to
know how the troops really want to be supported? (and I hear this
over and over again right from the horses mouth – the troops).
They want the
American people protesting out on the streets to get them the hell
out of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria or whatever other
God-forsaken place they are forced to deploy to on a yearly basis to
suffer fear, stress, deprivation, danger, filth, disease, stress,
depression and death on a daily basis for one entire year - that's
what they want!
But somehow
“supporting” our troops has been translated by the State Media
into us agreeing with whatever military action the government orders
our troops to undertake – unneeded actions which the troops DON'T
WANT, which they consider useless and dangerous and which they want
OUT of.
How's THAT
version of “supporting our troops” suit you?
But whatever
the case may be, supporting our troops is easy when all you need to
do is sit at home, watch TV, go shopping and live in comfort while
the 'war' continues.
WORSHIPPING
PUBLIC SERVANTS
Hey, in the War
on Terror, everybody's a hero:
the police,
because they face danger daily on our behalf to keep us safe and
secure (even though that is not their job - it is to enforce the law
- but safe and secure sounds warm and fuzzy), the Firemen, because
'they were there' on 9/11 and paid the ultimate price, the teachers,
because they protect and educate our kids, Park Rangers, Postal
Workers, what the heck, anyone wearing a freaking uniform suddenly
becomes a hero to be worshipped.
We are at war
and the government is directing that war and there are a lot of
sacrifices being made so basically anyone dressed in any type of
uniform...and a gun (and there seem to be more and more of them every
year) becomes an object of respect, adoration and worship.
There's a 'war
on terror' on and these are our foot soldiers keeping us safe.
VETERAN CONCEPT
In America, the
concept of 'veteran' has become a bit overblown.
When I was a
small child, 'veteran' meant someone who had fought in war.'
Nowadays anyone
who has done any sort of military service is called a 'veteran.'
And copious
amounts of respect and admiration are given 'our veterans' even
though it might be someone who pushed paper for two years in an
office.
It's all part
of the militaristic worship which has become part of America.
The 'veteran'
of old was a simple man who had gone to war, seen some pretty bad
stuff and kept most of it and his military service to himself,
bringing it up only if asked about it.
Nowadays, a
couple of years of paid military service entitles you to be a
'veteran' just like the old pros.
All sorts of
benefits, favors, special treatment and glory are accrued to our
'veterans' (now meaning simply people who have served in our
military), at least on paper.
But to a major
extent its a sham.
Just ask the
veterans who have come out of the Army with Gulf War syndrome or some
sort of post-traumatic stress disorder – the attitude of the
Veteran's Administration is that they 'don't exist.'
But it sure
feels good to grant a 'veteran' all those benefits like subsidized
mortgages, free education, choice seating at baseball games, etc.
Sometimes I
think the whole 'anything for our vets' is there more for the public
than our 'veterans.'
It keeps the
wartime psychology going.
VETERAN'S DAY /
MEMORIAL DAY
Or as I call
it, Veteran's Day and Dead Veteran's Day.
Hey, we got not
one but TWO holidays in which we idolize the military.
Can you imagine
Germany or Japan having TWO holidays celebrating their soldiers?
Oh, no.
The Chancellor
of Germany gets lambasted because he dares visit a German military
graveyard (in which a few SS are buried).
The Prime
Minister of Japan creates and uproar when he gathers up enough
courage to visit and bow down before a shrine commemorating Japanese
war dead.
Hey, folks,
these much smaller countries lost several times more soldiers than we
did in WW-II, while attempting to defend from destruction don't you
think they are entitled to their veteran's day?
Nope – stuff
like that would bring up too much of the militarism of the past.
But it's okay
for us to have TWO veteran's days because we never have been, are
not and never will be militaristic, right?
On top of that,
WE never committed war crimes like the Tokyo Firebombing, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, Dresden, Japanese-American Internments and Post-War
prisoner abuse, right?
Well, the truth
is....
...we ARE a
militaristic society, have been since WW-II and have been finding
every and any excuse to remain one.
Our two
Military Days are a good time to remind everybody of that.
MASSIVE MEDIA
CENSORSHIP
I have stopped
reading books about the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War, whether
historical or first person accounts for one reason: it has become
apparent to me that most if not ALL written material on the war is
PROPAGANDA written by government shills.
That's right.
Almost EVERY
book you pick up on the subject is as phony as a three dollar bill,
being either a fictional account or a heavily censored description of
events.
No real
emotion, no real insight, no real description of what has really
happened.
A lot of these
books are written by 'journalists' who have 'been there' with the
troops.
The rest are
written by troops who were there and are intelligence assets or are
carefully handled by 'authors' who actually write the book.
The result?
A whole lot of
empty, idealistic, censored, dry, patriotic propagandistic nonsense.
It's suspicious
how a detailed post-war account of Operation Iraqi Freedom has never
been written.
Is it because
the Pentagon has NOT allowed historians access to its documents and
officers?
This is the
first time I have seen this happen.
Hey!
You want to
read a book on the real Iraq War?
Try reading 'My
War: Killing Time in Iraq' by Colby Buzzell.
This book was
published in 2005 and they don't publish books like this anymore.
MEDIA
PROPAGANDA
I am sure you
have seen what passes as war films glorifying the military.
Most of them
involve our hero of heroes: the special forces.
Listen.
The special
forces are NOT heroes.
They get
recruited jointly by the Armed Forces and CIA.
They get their
orders directly from the CIA and are intimately involved with CIA
dirty business.
They are amoral
in that they have to be capable of carrying out any order against any
enemy (foreign or domestic) with 'extreme prejudice.'
In practice,
this translates into atrocities and war crimes.
The type of
individual attracted to and recruited by special forces is a no holds
barred thrill seeker with a touch of sadism, who gets off messing
people up and carries no baggage based on principles or morality. In
other words, the sky is the limit - just tell me who to kill.
They are
involved, in murder, assassination and torture both inside and
outside the country.
A US
Congressman has testified that British special forces were committing
atrocities in Libya that would be later blamed on the Libyan
government.
Special forces
have been caught carrying out 'wet' operations (i.e. killing someone)
right here in America.
Yet these are
the guys who are glorified in today's 'war films.'
To top it all
off, a new tv series is coming out called 'Enlisted' which shows how
military service is all good natured, wholesome fun and games
everyone should get into, ala 'Stripes.'
Reminds me of
Charlie Wilson's War, a CIA propaganda film glorifying the exploits
of CIA asset-slash-Congressman degenerate Charles Wilson, who
basically helped create Al Qaeda.
Can't keep the
good 'ol boys at the agency from slappin' their own butts.
MILITARIZED
POLICE
Can't have a
militarized society without militarized police.
To remind us of
our continuous state of war, emergency and crisis, our police have
been given helmets, gas masks, machine guns and armored vehicles.
'By dosh we
need 'em! 'Nev'r know where dose terr'sts might strike!'
Yeah,
terrorist.
Meanwhile the
police are busy using all that equipment to SWAT-team people's houses
over unpaid child support, unpaid student loans, paltry amounts of
drugs, mere happenstance or mistake.
I am not
kidding.
Basically all
that equipment is being used to bully, frighten and intimidate the
American people.
What follows
are the not-so-apparent and paradoxical but very true qualities of
any militarized society.
VETERANS ARE
THE ENEMY
Yep.
After all that
celebrating and 'support our troops' its really strange that our own
state department is now turning on the veterans and labeling them as
dangerous mental cases who also happen to be latent 'terrorists' and
should have their gun rights taken away.
Turning on the
vets? Why is that?
Aren't we a
militarized society?
Well...
...the truth is
every militarized society keeps a tight lid on its veterans.
A veteran is a
person well versed in the skills of combat and killing.
You don't want
people like that running around...and especially not coming together
in any type of organized group.
A militarized
society feels THREATENED by its veterans.
This is why
most militarized societies DISARM their citizens and isolate their
veterans.
In ancient
Rome, retired legionnaires were given a tract of land in some distant
region of the empire, FAR AWAY from Roman cities, and especially
from Rome itself. In effect, they were basically exiled for the rest
of their lives.
The empire
didn't want the 'mob of Rome' to be composed of armed veterans who
could take on the Praetorian Guard on an equal basis.
The American
Government is no different.
This is why it
poisons its veterans with vaccines to the point that they sicken and
become physical wrecks only a few years after they retire from the
military.
But this
doesn't seem to be enough.
The government
is now labeling veterans as latently insane, violent, unable to bare
arms responsibly and potential home-grown terrorists.
Makes sense.
All those
veterans are well trained in armed combat. You don't want people like
that coming together to oppose your hired thugs.
So,
paradoxically, the militarized American system is turning on the very
veterans it is always using to celebrate the American Empire.
MILITARIZED
SOCIETY = A DISARMED SOCIETY
Ironic again.
The more
militarized a society, the more disarmed and defenseless its people
are.
Fighting is
left to a small and highly trained force of professional mercenaries
and warriors.
The people are
not allowed to have any type of weapon or anything that could be used
as a weapon.
Ergo the 'militarized' society of Tokugawa Japan.
Not only were
the peasants totally disarmed, but their farming implements had to be
re-designed to make them totally useless as weapons (no matter that
they also became useless as farming tools as well).
The 'samurai'
themselves had their swords shortened into ceremonial swords useless
for battlefield use and their bows thinned into ritualistic toys. The
'martial arts' became more of a form of yoga, meditation and Tai Chi
rather than methods of war. Rituals like the tea ceremony and how to
draw a sword became the center of all attention.
Study of any
true martial arts were prohibited on pain of death.
Why do you
think Karate originated in Okinawa?
Because it was
the only place far enough and isolated enough from the mainland to
have enough freedom to develop and impart any form of martial art
without government interference.
The
'militarized' society of Tokugawa Japan was a disarmed society...
...as was Imperial Rome...as was Napoleonic France...as was Nazi Germany...and the Soviet Union,
The present
militarized American society is no different.
The population
is to be disarmed and its veterans neutralized.
All defense of
'the homeland' will be carried out by small groups of specially
trained mercenaries.
And this
provides an interesting post-script on the fall of empires.
A militarized
society gradually disarms and domesticates the population to such an
extent that it becomes no longer able to defend itself.
Why do you
think Babylon fell to a bunch of mountain nomads, or Imperial Rome to
wondering barbarians...or China to mounted vagrants?
It was because
their populations – their huge populations - which could have
squashed the invaders in a day were totally disarmed and
domesticated...
...and when the
small mercenary army 'defending the empire' was defeated by the
barbarians, the empire was open for the taking.
CONCLUSION
We are a
militarized society.
Our media is
ripe with militaristic propaganda cleverly disguised.
The American
public has been made accustomed to a state of perpetual war.
Most of its
films celebrate military style violence and makes heroic the
professional mercenary forces that serve the state.
As our society
militarizes, the state attempts to disarm the masses and neutralize
the veterans.
In an extreme
effort to disarm and neutralize the citizenry...while maintaining
combat power...the state is now taking the extreme measure of turning
to drones and robots as a substitute for a trained (veteran)
citizenry.
