Happy Memorial Day… a reflection
Memorial Day. The day of remembrance for those who fought and died in service of our country. Remembering how they valiantly fought for freedom and liberation all around the world, in wars that were sold as being righteous.
Let me ask you, when was the last time the US actually declared a war? Officially, through Congress? That would be World War II. And in my humble opinion, that was probably the last time, unfortunately, that the US has fought for a legitimately good cause, albeit very late to the party.
Since WWII, the US has been involved in around 23 military conflicts, none of which had been formally declared as war. The Korean and Vietnam Wars? Undeclared, informal “wars” that were more about “stopping communism”, effectively serving as proxy wars against Russia /or China. Following the Vietnam War, the resulting devastation in our attempts to quell communism led to millions more dying under Pol Pot in Cambodia. Hundreds of thousands of our own soldiers suffered for decades later because of Agent Orange and various other war related injuries, along with the over 50,000 who died during it. This is not to speak of the millions who were displaced due to the war. Or millions dead through the other wars.
Fast forward the US through the 1980s onward, the seeds of the “War on Terror” were planted, training/arming Bin Laden and Al Qaeda against the Russians in Afghanistan — whom subsequently attacked the US on 9/11 (in which nearly 3,000 American lives were tragically lost). Since 9/11, we have become either directly or indirectly involved with several Middle Eastern nations: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Iran, and probably others. This “War on Terror” has wrought at least 800,000 casualties (some death estimates go into the millions as well), with millions more presumably injured, and over 37 million people displaced from their homes (equivalent to the state of California). Domestically, this “war” (never declared) has led to the Patriot Act, the TSA, and subsequent mass surveillance (Snowden/NSA), stripping away further at our freedoms.
Twenty twenty-one marked the 20-year anniversary of the “War” in Afghanistan (which was never declared). Days like Memorial Day, or these unfortunate anniversaries, serve as good juncture points of reflection.
What exactly has been accomplished through all of this bloodshed and violence? Through the trillions of dollars spent on weapons and bombs? Through the terrorized generations of people whom grew up in war-torn regions of the world? This is not to say that the US is specifically responsible for it, but all too often, when you do a bit of scratching, right under the service you will find some US/CIA involvement in the underpinnings that paved the way for social decay in many instances (Central/South America, Arab Spring, etc). Social destabilization has been quite the specialty for US foreign policy. Before you rage at your keyboard in response, I am not questioning the dedication or presumed purpose by those who volunteered to fight — their reasons were most likely just.
However, I would argue that they were led to battle under false pretenses in more instances than anyone should be comfortable with. The carelessness in which our elected leaders and unelected bureaucrats sent our troops to a war that, again arguably, were not just. And certainly didn’t make the world a safer, freer, more democratic place to live in. Certainly not for the residents of the invaded countries, at least for a preponderance of the time. The times in which military invention was absolutely needed (Cambodia, Rwanda, etc), the US was nowhere to be found. So again I ask, what was it all for?
We remember the soldiers who fought and died, and many seem to focus on WWII (which, IMO, was the last “just” war that the US actually fought in). But since WWII, what did those soldiers fight and die for? Did their deaths ultimately serve the purpose under which they served their country? Were the people of the country in which our soldiers die liberated from the supposed tyranny that these soldiers thought they were fighting against?
I know that there were actual tyrannical regimes throughout the decades, regimes that were barbaric to their own people. Suffering that was wrought, not through the actions of the US, but through these other governments and entities, However, my questions still remain: what did the US attempt to do to prevent it? Unfortunately, in several instance, the US, through the CIA, often lifted up these brutal dictators through financial and/or military (weapons/training) support, or currently allied with in Saudi Arabia.
Even if I were to grant good-intention with US foreign policy, time after time after time, military intervention (particularly in the Middle East) only leads to further societal destabilization, and subsequent rise of autocratic and more theocratic leaders and “political” parties — so again I ask, why haven’t we learned from our past mistakes? Why keep shooting ourselves in the foot, entrenching our military in a sinkhole of neverending conflict? We have walked down this path before time ad naseum, and the result is nearly identical every single time. Every time. Overthrow a despot, and the inevitable power vacuum is nearly always filled by something far worse.
Ultimately, what was it all for? And even if you have broadly supported the US during each of these conflicts, do you have a good understanding of why our soldiers are there?
I should add that it isn’t always the case that people join the military out of some sense of noble duty to their country, at least not exclusively. We have created this aura of glory around serving, all while essentially ignoring the other major confounding factor involved: economics.
Many if not most volunteers either come from economically impoverished homes (economic reason), or middle class homes (who oftentimes have veterans in the family) and see the military as a good career option (also an economic reason). The military is primarily a source for good paying jobs for many (not faulting individuals for taking advantage of this situation, as good opportunities are not always easy to find), and tangentially, contract work for many in factories and other related industries (Eisenhower referred to this as the Military Industrial Complex). Patriotism /or sense of duty to this country seemingly comes as an afterthought to the economic benefits, even if it is explicitly expressed as the main motivational driver after the fact. The problem arises here that war becomes a means for economic gain for even the average soldier, explicitly or otherwise, disincentivize critique and dissent —combat is a bigger paycheck and job security, regardless of the reason. Either way, this is just an aside to the aforementioned points, but still an issue that I wanted to briefly address.
I presume that if you are still reading this, that you may be thinking “what does he know, he never served”. And you would be right. And though I have numerous loved ones in my life who have served, I have not. But, that doesn’t mean that I can’t offer my observations, or pose some questions that I think should be asked if we are to do justice to those who actually serve, and hold those who send our soldiers into war to account.
So on this Memorial Day, or any other day of remembrance of our lost soldiers, I think we should do more than simply remember that they died for us. We should be asking why, and was the war/or conflict in which they died actually just. Did we do our due diligence before engaging with part of the world militarily? Are bombs and bullets the best way to spread the American way of life to the oppressed regions of the world? Are we causing or preventing more suffering in the world through our military actions? Why does our government have a bad tendency of propping up brutal dictators, if our “mission” historically has been to dispose of them? Domestically, what are we doing to take of the soldiers who come home damaged from war?
Anyway, if you have served, thank you for your service. I have no doubts that you mean well, and your reasons for serving were valiant. I just wish our foreign policy was as well. And if you have any questions or issues with anything I have written, please feel free to comment or DM me with remarks.
