By: Gary D. Barnett
“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”
? Howard Zinn
How much more war is enough to appease the desires of the oligarchs ruling America? Why don’t the lives of innocents actually matter? How much more blood will stain the flag of the United States Empire? When will the American people tire of war and killing? When will those who kill for the state rightfully be called murderers instead of heroes?
The truth hurts, but truth is the most powerful weapon against tyranny. If acceptance of truth is the savior of mankind, then apathy is its destroyer. Considering the current mentality of the U.S. population, it would seem that the end is closer than it appears.
In America, war is a constant. It is a fact of everyday existence, although the citizens don’t see it firsthand because the aggressors take the war to far away places. The victims are simply seen as meaningless strangers from another culture. It feels as if war is a normal part of life, and will never end. It is not that there are wars being waged to defend America, as this country’s mainland has never been attacked. Even the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was sought and planned, and known about in advance. The wars today are in distant lands, where the killing of innocents and the raping of countries are much removed from the minds of the ignorant and apathetic populace.
The purpose for war today boils down to power, money and geopolitical control. It is a trillion dollar a year racket that leaves in its wake death, destruction, suffering, famine, sickness, and displaced families. This breeds hatred and terrorism, and the resulting blowback, a predictable phenomenon, is useful to those prosecuting war. They understand that every retaliatory attack can be used to justify more war. It is a never-ending cycle of unspeakable horror.
I abhor war. I have little use for those who revel in war and killing, and I have much contempt for the voluntary military. This does not mean that I did not have empathy for those young men drafted into slavery during past wars, those who were lied to and told they were fighting for good. They were confused and scared, and in many cases just trying to get out alive. The fact that they were put into that position in the first place is an abomination, and exposes the evil of the ruling elites and the politicians they control who care nothing about other people’s children.
There is no honor in war, and there never has been any honor in killing for the state. As Herbert Spencer correctly stated:
The American public should take this quote to heart. To do so only requires that the old adage, “put yourself in my shoes,” be applied to the wars of the U.S. Simply stated, if another country’s military and soldiers landed on U.S. shores, and began bombing and killing your friends, neighbors, and family, what would you do? You would defend yourself, and kill anyone attempting to harm those around you, and you would have every right to do so. The people in countries being brutalized by American troops feel the same way, and also have every right to kill any American soldier attempting to harm them or their family in any war of aggression. This seems so simple when put in this perspective, but few see the similarity?
The U.S. has been responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people, and is continuing to slaughter more every day. Hostility and wars by the United States have spared few over the past century. The American military after WWI and WWII, where many tens of millions died, was involved in carnage in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, much of South and Central America, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo, Libya, China, Mexico, Yugoslavia, the entire Middle East and most of northern Africa. And sadly, this is not a complete list of victim countries that have been aggressively invaded by U.S. forces. In addition, devastating sanctions have been imposed on nations around the world by the U.S. political class, and those sanctions dramatically harm mostly civilians, especially the very young, old, and weak. It is a political strategy that completely disregards humanity and compassion for innocents. Why is this allowed?
War in this country is supported and allowed by the people due to fear. That fear is unwarranted, and has been instilled in the hearts and minds of the indoctrinated and weak-minded citizenry through calculated lies. It is the easy way out after all, for people to accept the truth would mean facing the demons inside themselves, while wallowing in apathy requires little self-responsibility. Blind complicity at this level is not innocent, and without a moral awakening by the people, war will never end.
War is a nightmare. And while the act of waging war is more foreign to the common man, the soldier relishes the action and danger of invasion, and thrives on false praise. Considering the military, it is often said that most are honorable, compassionate, and brave, but there are a few bad apples. This is backward in my opinion, as there are some good people in the military, but most are bad apples. If the propagandist’s assumptions were true, then U.S. wars of aggression would never be fought, but they are fought, and there is no end in sight.
Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com
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