Anthems of War

I don't know if my tinfoil hat is a bit tight today, but I got stuck listening to a country / pop station on Memorial Day weekend, and it strikes me as downright cringey how pretentious and propagandist commercial "music" is. I'm listening to songs that couldn't get past Simon Cowell with lyrics that sound like a parody of Hunger Games anthems. These are industry-polished millionaires singing songs of made-up stories about "our heroes", playing on our emotions on literally millions of speakers across the country right now, with even more voices mindlessly singing along.

This is an obscenity, and shameful to the memory of anyone ever subjected to the horror and violence of the war machine. So, I'm entreating you to think a little deeper this weekend. When you think about your loved ones and the innocent people being shot all around the world in the name of the nation state, vow to be better than to salivate at vengeance and empire. When the loudspeakers invite you to sing war anthems, don't be the picnickers at the edge of the battle. Be the widows and orphans.