A free association from my post this morning on American Sniper and my visceral disgust for the jingosim and propaganda ...... Okay, bear with me. After acts of violence in the name of Allah, the question is always posed: why dont the good Muslims denounce such acts Unfair question. No one asked white male Christians to denounce Timothy McVeigh, of course. No group should have to denounce a few wackos in their ranks. Im an atheist. Yes, I know there are angry hateful atheists but its not my job to officially rebuke. Why? They have nothing to do with me. However, that being said, there is one group whose -- to invoke a cliche -- silence is deafening. High-ranking military. They are in a unique position to be honest about the gross misuse of American taxpayer funds to the tune of TRILLIONS, as well as the loss of tens of thousands of lives -- both American troops and middle-east civilian. When I decry American involvement overseas, Im doing so as another easily dismissed liberal blogger. Absolutely no right-winger -- no simplistic lets kill some A-raps in the name of Murica jingoists-- will be swayed. But a decorated leader with unassailable credentials? Yes! Like Smedley Butler, who was a Major General and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in US history. So where are the Smedley Butlers of today? Huh? Where are they? They alone have the power to convince the God and country crowd that taking a mature and cerebral approach, with the understanding that few things are black or white, is not weakness. A reflective nature in the face of complex issues is not weakness or cowardice. Nor is a commitment to violence only as a last resort. And maybe the American sniper wasnt used to protect my freedoms as much as make a ton of money for war profiteers and the military industrial complex??? -- Cindi
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:33:33 +0000
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