Tag Archives: culture of war

How the Emperor rules

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consistent theme here is the course of Empire. The US military domination of the world at the service of the international oligarchy is, for me, a self-evident truth that needs little demonstration, so it’s often hard for me to understand how so many of our citizens are seemingly oblivious to this state of affairs.

Friday’s postfrom Caitlin Johnstone, the Australian writer I’ve been reading for a year or so now, contains one of the best explanations of how people are lulled into the illusory view of the US and its allies as the champions of freedom and democracy. It also is an excellent summary of historical and current events that illustrate just how accurate the notion of Empire is for characterizing our world.

Occasioned by the installation of the torturer-in-chief as CIA head, the article is not an easy read, as it catalogs CIA’s techniques in stomach-turning detail, but it lays out the case for understanding all that’s happening these days as the course of Empire, the consolidation of power in the hands of the oligarchy, and the refining of the narrative that keeps our folks cheering on their own enslavement.

It really couldn’t be more fitting that the US now has an actual, literal torturer as the head of the CIA. It also couldn’t be more fitting that it has a reality TV star billionaire President, an Iraq-raping Bush-era neoconservative psychopathas National Security Advisor, a former defense industry directoras Secretary of Defense, a former Goldman Sachs executiveas Secretary Treasurer, and a former Rothschild, Inc. executiveas Secretary of Commerce. These positions have always facilitated torture, oppression, war profiteering and Wall Street greed; the only thing that has changed is that they now have a more honest face on them.

And — which makes it worth slogging through the horrors — she manages to find a way to see all this as an encouraging development, in that it signifies the loss of control of the narrative, which makes it possible that eventually our folks will wake up!

We can only hope that it’s not too late when it comes.

[If that link doesn’t work, as Medium is a big churlish sometimes, search for her title “The Friendly Mask of the Orwellian Oligarchy Is Slipping Off” by Caitlin Johnstone. I highly recommend her writing on the political machinations of the current regime, as she seems to have a brave and unbiased approach to the whole thing, partly perhaps on account of living in Australia where the shenanigans are obvious but there’s a little less danger in speaking your mind.

The culture of war

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From Chris Hedges, who has seen much war:

The culture of war banishes the capacity for pity. It glorifies self-sacrifice and death. It sees pain, ritual humiliation and violence as part of an initiation into manhood. Brutal hazing, as Kyle noted in his book, was an integral part of becoming a Navy SEAL. New SEALs would be held down and choked by senior members of the platoon until they passed out. The culture of war idealizes only the warrior. It belittles those who do not exhibit the warrior’s “manly” virtues. It places a premium on obedience and loyalty. It punishes those who engage in independent thought and demands total conformity. It elevates cruelty and killing to a virtue. This culture, once it infects wider society, destroys all that makes the heights of human civilization and democracy possible. The capacity for empathy, the cultivation of wisdom and understanding, the tolerance and respect for difference and even love are ruthlessly crushed. The innate barbarity that war and violence breed is justified by a saccharine sentimentality about the nation, the flag and a perverted Christianity that blesses its armed crusaders. This sentimentality, as Baldwin wrote, masks a terrifying numbness. It fosters an unchecked narcissism. Facts and historical truths, when they do not fit into the mythic vision of the nation and the tribe, are discarded. Dissent becomes treason. All opponents are godless and subhuman. “American Sniper” caters to a deep sickness rippling through our society. It holds up the dangerous belief that we can recover our equilibrium and our lost glory by embracing an American fascism.

[American Sniper article at Truthdig]