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Printer-Friendly ModeVeterans Day a time to consider sacrifices made through war
November 16, 2009 —
There is a nice piece of history relating to Iroquois Point, which is about a half hour from my house in Sault Ste. Marie. There is a lighthouse there that, for a long time, guided ships across the big lake they call Gitche Gumee, but there was once an Ojibwa settlement on that same piece of coastline. The Ojibwa were a very peaceful people, who rarely warred with anyone. In 1662, a group of Iroquois invaded the Ojibwa settlement. The next morning, the beaches around the whole point were decorated with the heads of the invaders placed on the end of spears. Americans as a whole are not a peaceful people. I think many Americans would like to think that we are the modern equivalent to the Ojibwa — peaceful but capable — but that just isn’t the case. American culture embraces war passionately and ubiquitously. In the wake of this Veteran’s Day, we should consider the nature or our military culture.
The Veteran’s Day parade in my hometown is a good time. The National Guard, Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, etc. march down Ashman Street accompanied by spirited, up-lifting music and an aura of honor. The citizenry, with hot-cocoa and walking-tacos, cheers gratefully for the defenders of freedom. The response is appropriate; I don’t think there was any semblance of justice in the treatment of Vietnam veterans, and perhaps the only veterans in the history of the U.S. that weren’t horribly mistreated were those from World War II. I cannot imagine spitting at a young man or woman who has risked his or her life at least partially in the defense of mine. Maybe I didn’t ask them to, but somebody else did. If you really feel the need to spit on somebody, spit on the people who ask for war, not the people who fight it. It’s important that the crowd show gratitude, but there is something missing in the parade.
In rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, the processions to honor their veterans are very different. First, all the orphans created by the war walk by, then all the widows, then all the mutilated and handicapped soldiers with prosthetic limbs and scarred faces. Not until the community has paid homage to those people, those who will bear the brunt of the cost of war, do the healthy, snazzily dressed troops pass by in the synchronized stomp. At these parades, war is at least given a more accurate representation. A young boy on his father’s shoulders won’t only see the impressive looking soldiers and be inspired to run off to war. With the sad faces of the orphans and widows in his mind, he will think of his mother, his sister, his future wife. The soldiers’ march won’t appear so valiant next to the wounded veterans’ limp.
Certainly, this alternative structure of a parade is not free of flaws. While American youth is being indoctrinated with the glory and prestige of war, the youth in rural Pakistan is perhaps being embittered, seeing the damage done to their neighbors and loved ones. When the portrayal of war is valiant and neglects to include the suffering inherent to war, people are deceived. They are quick to propose violence to solve problems. When the violence and atrocity of war is constantly witnessed within civil society, natural human capacity for vengeance causes hatred to run rampant. So how does a community prevent an inclination for war from infiltrating its people and culture? As with many things, a simple education would suffice. Make ones citizens aware of the horrors of war, but don’t inundate them with it. There is no need to promote the glory of war and create a sense of pride in becoming a soldier. One will naturally feel pride in defending the lives of their loved ones when it is necessary. The additional brainwashing that works to glorify the role of a soldier is manipulation.
We are not a peaceful people — not even the type of peaceful one could use to characterize the Ojibwa. From supersoakers, to laser-tag, to video games, to the militarization of sports, war is a part of American culture. War dominates our politics. We spend over $560 billion each year on our military, and are essentially the paid bouncer for our allies, so much so that Costa Rica doesn’t even need a military. Conceived in war and in a perpetual state of war since, the United States is not peaceful because the culture of its military is meshed with its civil culture. There is a reason why the Constitution demands that the head of the military is a civilian. The people must rule the military, not the other way around. If the two are not kept separate, the military-industrial complex becomes the military-cultural complex. Veteran’s Day is important to remember not only the sacrifice soldiers have made for us, but the sacrifice we make every time we send soldiers to war.