Today is Revisionist History Day, what others call Memorial Day. Americans are supposed to remember the country's war dead while being thankful that they protected our freedom and served our country. However, reading revisionist history (see a sampling at the link above) or alternative news sites (start with Antiwar.com and Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton) teaches that the fallen were doing no such thing. Rather they were and are today serving cynical politicians and the "private" component of the military-industrial complex in the service of the American Empire.
In that spirit, I again quote a passage from the great antiwar movie The Americanization of Emily. You'll find a video of the scene below. This AP photo is a perfect illustration of what "Charlie Madison" is talking about.
I don't trust people who make bitter reflections about war, Mrs. Barham. It's always the generals with the bloodiest records who are the first to shout what a Hell it is. And it's always the widows who lead the Memorial Day parades . . . we shall never end wars, Mrs. Barham, by blaming it on ministers and generals or warmongering imperialists or all the other banal bogies. It's the rest of us who build statues to those generals and name boulevards after those ministers; the rest of us who make heroes of our dead and shrines of our battlefields. We wear our widows' weeds like nuns and perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices....Enjoy the day. I'll spend some of it reading revisionist history and watching Emily.
My brother died at Anzio – an everyday soldier’s death, no special heroism involved. They buried what pieces they found of him. But my mother insists he died a brave death and pretends to be very proud. . . . [N]ow my other brother can’t wait to reach enlistment age. That’ll be in September. May be ministers and generals who blunder us into wars, but the least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution. What has my mother got for pretending bravery was admirable? She’s under constant sedation and terrified she may wake up one morning and find her last son has run off to be brave. [Emphasis added.]
Sheldon,
ReplyDeleteI remember like it was yesterday when I became an admirer of yours. Many years ago, you wrote (I think it was in Liberty Magazine) that the soldiers didn't die for our freedoms but that they died for the State. Those aren't the exact words but I think they're close. It was then I knew what differentiated the radical libertarian from not only the principled Bircher-type conservative but also from most mainstream libertarians. Thanks Sheldon.
Thanks, Tom. That is very gratifying.
ReplyDeleteMan, we need another Paddy Chayefsky right now. But it’s likely a writer of his caliber only comes along once in a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteDidn't your post on this last year attract some uber-authoritarian flag wavy fellow who blasted you with angry assertions (as I recall there were no arguments) ?
ReplyDelete