Exploiting America's warrior class — and a question about responsibility

© 2018 Peter Free

 

08 August 2018

 

 

An introductory irony

 

I feel more comfortable among the United States' warrior class than anywhere else typically American.

 

That's ironic, considering how often I critique the damage that the Military Industrial Complex does to planet, humanity and societal justice.

 

This paradox, however, goes to the heart of what is wrong with America's militarized culture.

 

We are caught in a trap created by Plutocracy's ability to manipulate other people's arguably noble intent(s) to its own elitist ends.

 

 

Consider the reservoirs of the United States' all-volunteer military

 

America's warriors come predominantly from two sub-populations. The South and West's martial tradition — and the United States' economic underclass:

 

 

The former group nobly serves a potentially self-sacrificial mission by generations-spawned choice. We do what our families did in the past.

 

The second group uses military service as a path out of capitalism-imposed poverty.

 

 

Both groups are subsequently further "refined" (by military training and experience) into putting service to comrades generally above self.

 

That's why I feel at home with these people. They value not being spineless, self-serving jerks. We adhere to nation and mission. We would rather die, than let both down.

 

 

Unfortunately, these service-oriented traits leave us prone to being brainwashed

 

We are regularly propagandized — whether by:

 

 

grossly slanted school and Lamestream-taught History,

 

our own innate preference for action over deep thinking,

 

the warrior profession's understandable requirement that obedience comes before self-direction —

 

as well as

 

the ubiquitous admonition that we should not become overtly political.

 

 

What the commander says, goes.

 

 

When I speak of military vacuity, it is these traits that I mean

 

They comprise a generalized unwillingness to question the myths of personal and national "nobility" that we are prone to accepting, without substantial question.

 

 

In essence — this is an easily manipulated warrior class . . .

 

. . . that almost always does whatever it is told.

 

And that's where our national culture's aversion to analytical thinking comes in.

 

Consider, for example, this question:

 

 

If you are a plutocrat (or politician) that wants to subjugate the world to your greedy aims, how would you begin?

 

Perhaps with an enormous, well-meaning and completely captive "volunteer" military?

 

Drawn from two well-meaning sub-populations that inherently will not question the (imperialistically strewn) patriotism of your personally selfish goals?

 

 

Here, I say "captive" because anyone military, including families, knows that the Government owns you. You go and do what you're told.

 

If "orders" mean:

 

killing or being killed,

 

living in places that no sensible person would want to go,

 

or

 

groveling in front of a stupid, arrogant or demented commander —

 

that's what's going to happen.

 

 

Imperial Rome did not do as well as the United States has, at creating and exploiting (plutocrat-preserving) warrior legions. Historically, we're in an imperial elite by ourselves.

 

 

The moral? — The sacrificial "best" among us — serve at the direction of the oligarchical worst

 

This is an irony that strikes me every day, as I am surrounded by America's warriors.

 

As always, it is not individual personalities, who are to blame. It is the System that creates and continues to nurture these category-bounded types.

 

Morally and strategically, our all-volunteer military is the worst thing that the United States has done to itself. Ironically so, by using its largest "to the death" group of generally well-intentioned people.

 

In tracing the social origins and professional development of my military friends and associates, I see rampant capitalism's devious doings.

 

It is (not too remotely speaking) as if the Devil had recruited un-fallen, warrior-wannabe-angels to do his work.

 

One troubling question (in this latter regard) is the Nuremberg one. Where would such an inquiry place accountability for accumulated, US-initiated war crimes carnage?

 

 

On troops, system, or leaders?

 

And — if leaders — at which ranks?

 

 

Perhaps the moral and organizational complexity of such an inquiry explains why so few among the uniformed branches question anything at all.

 

We presume to proactively preserve our souls by floating in intentionally selected ignorance.

 

An astute outside observer might wonder where that ignorance-favoring trait slops over into becoming immorally willful — and, therefore, punishable.

 

Were the United States a genuinely "Christian" nation, these questions could not be avoided.

 

That they are never addressed, supports Chris Hedges' observation that the "liberal church" in the United States has suicided itself.

 

I raise this religious aspect because such a high proportion of the American military pretends to be fervently Christian. One cannot actually be such, and so easily dodge Nuremberg's accountability inquiries.

 

Is it (figuratively speaking) the Devil's System — or us?