Stop Telling Veterans That They Are Heroes

in politics •  5 years ago 

Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw has a popular post going around on Twitter at the moment admonishing Senator Bernie Sanders for saying that the US government should not go to war if it can’t afford to take care of its veterans.

“Watching Bernie pander to different groups to get their vote has always disgusted me, but now it’s personal,” Crenshaw tweeted. “I didn’t go to war so that you would take care of me, Bernie. I went because I wanted to serve and our country needed it.”

This “look at me, I’m a veteran” song and dance is par for course with Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost an eye to an improvised explosive device on his third deployment in America’s evil and unjustifiable Afghanistan occupation. When Crenshaw says “I went because I wanted to serve and our country needed it,” he is being delusional, and feeding into his delusion allows him to continue dominating public discourse with obnoxiously propagandistic takes like the notion that the US should continue its forever war without even so much as ensuring that it can take care of the people whose lives are chewed up and spat out by the imperial war machine.


https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1173963177412956160?s=20

Dan Crenshaw did not serve his country. Dan Crenshaw is not a hero. Dan Crenshaw participated in a military occupation that after 18 years and counting has claimed tens of thousands of lives for no benefit to any ordinary American at all. All he served during his time in that country was the geostrategic imperialist agendas of unaccountable government agencies and the profit margins of war plutocrats, yet upon returning home he’s been able to convert his stint as a glorified hired thug into social collateral which got him elected to the US House of Representatives and secured him a punditry platform from which he can spout war propaganda. All because people agree to play along with the completely nonsensical narrative that US war veterans are heroes.

You see this time and time again: a completely fact-free fairy tale about heroism and fighting for freedom is treated as unquestionable dogma by a populace who has agreed to treat US war veterans with reverence and respect, despite the fact that they chose to pour their time and energy into what is literally the most unhelpful and destructive endeavor that you could possibly devote yourself to. This unquestioning reverence is then consistently twisted into leverage for war propagandists to use in glorifying acts of mass military slaughter which benefitted no one and made the whole world worse.

The tightly controlled narrative about American veterans being heroes is always, always, always used to advance war propaganda and never to accomplish anything that is of service to mankind. It's an impulse which serves no one but the powerful. Of course veterans of US wars should be taken care of, and taken care of far better than they currently are, but not because they are heroes. Rather, they should be cared for because they spent time in a highly traumatic environment which sends home many highly traumatized people who will need a lot of help in order to reintegrate into society in a healthy way. What they went through was a horrible tragedy that nobody should ever have to go through, not a glorious thing that more people should aspire to enlist into.


https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1132261020104241152

It is more cognitively comfortable for veterans and their families to maintain the fairy tale that those who helped facilitate US imperialism are heroes who did something helpful and meaningful, but the fact that human minds are preconditioned to select for cognitive ease is a glitch in our operating systems which causes unhelpful cognitive biases; it's a flaw we need to overcome, not a virtue to be coddled. By continuing to coddle it you are facilitating war propaganda, and war propaganda is the indispensable foundation of war itself. By facilitating war propaganda you are participating in the war machine as surely as someone who takes up arms and fights in it, only less honest because, as Representative Crenshaw's face attests, at least someone who takes up arms is putting some real skin in that monstrous game.

It's like veterans are engaged with us in a bizarre live action role-playing game, where they pretend to be the heroes and the rest of us pretend to be the thankful civilians whose freedoms they fought for. But continuing to LARP with them in this way creates nonsense like we see in Crenshaw's tweet, and in the ridiculous smears against NFL players choosing to take a knee during the national anthem, and in the bleating of "Support our troops!" as a one-line shutdown of anyone who protested the Iraq invasion.

Don't participate in that stupid, war-facilitating, power-serving LARP. Don't say "Thank you for your service" to veterans. Don't pretend to agree with them when they claim to have fought for your freedom and democracy. Openly disagree with people who promulgate this narrative. Treat Veterans Day and Memorial Day as days of grieving and truth-telling, not celebration and glorification. The worshipful propaganda narratives that have been built up around veterans are an important cog in the war machine's consent factory, and they should be attacked as unapologetically as war propaganda narratives about what's going on in Syria or Iran.

"But Caitlin!" you may say. "What about World War Two veterans?"

Well, fine, but they're in their nineties now and you should probably be telling them whatever they want to hear anyway. And while we're on the subject, do you notice how far back you had to reach in US history to find a war in which veterans arguably fought for a just cause? The fact that the last possible example is on the cusp of living memory tells you all you need to know about your impulse to argue with me on this one.

I'm not saying to be mean to veterans, and I'm not saying veterans are bad people, in fact, one of the most heinous injustices about these corporate wars is that they turn many of our finest and bravest young people toward the very most toxic and pernicious ends possible. Many of them sincerely enlisted due to an impulse to help make the world a better place; it's the same impulse which led Julian Assange to set up a leaking outlet to help expose unaccountable power structures, the only difference is that Assange saw clearly through the fog of propaganda and they did not. But the reverence and fairy tales have got to go.

There are no war heroes. There are only war victims. It's time to grow up and stop pretending otherwise.


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Excellent piece, veterans are often used as political pawns.
They're people, they're often profoundly traumatized, they deserve to be taken care of after what they've been through.
However, they're not heroes to be worshipped. Thanks for highlighting how the "support our troops" slogan is constructed to shutdown meaningful discourse and to maintain a simplistic binary view of the world.

There's nothing heroic about participating in illegal unjustified perpetual wars with no end in sight. Civilians and troops alike are killed maimed and scarred for life in wars where nobody remembers why they're fighting in the first place.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were based on lies. Saddam Hussein had no affiliation with Al Queda (CIA trained Mujahideen), there were no WMDs and an entire country was torn apart in this obvious lie. Likewise, the Taliban did not orchestrate 9/11 ("we do not negotiate with terrorists" - yet after 18yrs of pointless war that's exactly what they'll do), heroin production has skyrocketed while Osama Bin Laden was discovered and murdered in neighbouring Pakistan (protected by the ISI) and the body was supposedly dumped at sea back in 2011... "Mission Accomplished". So, the supposed mastermind of 9/11 was supposedly killed 8 years ago but the USA/NATO coalition is still there... the longest war in US history continues... and is never questioned...

Incredible.

There's some great insights in this piece, I hope people take the time to ponder the significance of the truth you speak.

Veterans have turned from heros into tools.

When were they heroes at all? After the Revolutionary War, literally every conflict has been an unnecessary result of US belligerence at least in part.

Hitler was a significant threat to the world in WWII. It was the last war that was primarily driven to preserve our freedom. While there were corrupt reasons involved (there always is in all wars), such as Bush's connections to German banks, a bad outcome and we would all be speaking German now in the continental US. Since then, Eisenhower has warned in his "cross of iron" speech that a "military industrial complex" was rising. We've conveniently forgotten and now we live with this reality.

I'm old enough to have seen the changes in the USA over the last several decades. I don't need to read about it in the history books because I've lived it. The zeitgeist of the times is significantly different now from what it was when I was a child.

WW2 was a consequence of WW1, which ended in injustice following US involvement, and created an environment where rabid nationalists like Hitler could claim to offer a solution. Hitler was bad, but his existence didn't arise out of nowhere. Further, there is no way his fascist economy could have fueled a long-term war, much less led to "everyone speaking German." The first half of the 20th century is clouded by propaganda and patriotic bullshit too.

Patriotic BS in every era, but the times were different then. It's very different these days. Total and absolute corruption now. Cops get away with everything. VR makes it so anything can be faked and evidence erased. This wasn't the case when I was a child. Many cops refused to wear guns. Much more respect and decency and cops that did step out of line were prosecuted because police unions weren't as strong back then. Also a lot less ego. Unless you were alive to experience it, you will not really understand.

Have you read War is a Racket by Marine General Smedley Butler? It has always been the same BS.

If by "VR," you mean CGI, only to an extent. And there was plenty of manual image alteration and staged scenes since the invention of photography.

We see the past through rose-colored glasses, but you are talking about the era of Jim Crow and prohibition. There may have been more Andy Griffiths in the past, but there have always been Barney Fifes as well. Police have always done what they could get away with doing.

Police have always done what they could get away with doing.

Statism has cycles. We have heroes today don't we? People like Larken Rose, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, Jeff Berwick, Satoshi Nakamoto, etc. Then minarchism rears its ugly head. Eventually "essential services" seek to justify their existence as government and they increasingly expand into a blood sucking parasite. It will happen again if the byzantine generals problem isn't properly solved for decentralization.

His appearance on Joe Rogan was embarrassing to vets. His stupid comment about "why they hate us" was taken straight from 2002: "They wake up everyday thinking of ways to attack our culture". What an asshat.

He's pushing for more wars for empire, while his fellow vets continue to support and vote for the least hawkish among presidential candidates going back through every election of my lifetime.

You're more than welcome to your ideas. In fact most servicemen and women don't want to be called Heroes. However the notion that volunteering to serve to fight an enemy that will kill you if you do not is wrong; is seriously juvenile. I have seen evil and if you don't fight it on its own turf you will fight it on yours. I know we will disagree but so be it.

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This guy is the posterchild for dumb motherfucker

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Dupes gonna be duped.
The whole system is set up to duplicate that guy.
I was him, until I figured it out, just before the first gulf war, let's hope somebody opens his eyes to the realities around him, before we have to go mad max.

He's too rich to realize anything bruh 😂😂😂

Yeah, funny how folks get all forgetful when their paycheck is on the line.

Its all fun, games, and conspiracies until society turns into Venezuela.

Rule by force is the disease, who and how are symptoms.
https://archive.org/details/lookingbackward01bellgoog/page/n5

I highly doubt you would say that directly to his face.

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I definitely would, you know nothing about me lmfao. I've insulted much more important people to their face.

Good for you...

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Carry on, cringer, carry on.

Thank you for your service.

Liberalism is a mental disorder of the worst variety...

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That doesn't mean anything and I'm also not a liberal.

Yea...you're of the worst variety.

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What are the troops fighting for when we keep LOSING our freedoms??? I made a sign that says that and held it up at a No War With Iran protest not too long ago.

  ·  5 years ago Reveal Comment

Excellent post!

....on the lighter side of things today, here, have yourself a giggle..
sbr091119dapr.jpg

I know of no one who'd get more of a buzz out of that then you.

I read the whole article, and I am not sure what the point of this is. You want to change how people think about veterans, and the way we engage with them? Now you can read my short response.

There is no way I am ever going to argue with my brother about his time served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although my family and I might agree with you about reasons why he should have never enlisted in the first place, nobody in their right mind would dare discredit his service and bravery. He nearly died because an idiot general ordered the fuel vehicle my brother was driving to lead a convoy through a field of landmines while the landmine detection vehicle was being repaired. The idiot general thought he was fulfilling the mission set by President Obama. I agree, this is an example of the delusional thinking you speak of. My brother had no choice. Hell, they probably lied to him and told him the road was safe. Now my brother can expect a shorter lifespan and two less legs to walk on. Should I diminish his life further? He despises pity, and asks for nothing, but always demanded respect for as long as I've known him.

It isn't about placing blame on the correct people who participated in a war, it is about honoring those who were willing to give their lives to protect your rights, freedoms, and even all of our economic privileges. Are you still filling up your car with gasoline? Thank a veteran you can still afford to do that. We all know the war mongering in the Middle East is ultimately about oil prices.

Bravery and stupidity are two sides of the same coin. A lot of veterans over the years have failed to get the full benefits they deserve. It became a broken system. My dad, a war veteran, got a VA home loan, and I'm discovering what a big scam it is. I disgusts me the many unofficial services marketed to help veterans that are ultimately money grabbing scams to trick people into contracts that will suck them dry. The amount of hours they served compared the amount of compensation they receive is pathetic. It is less than the minimum wage. Many soldiers enlist because they feel inadequate and inferior to compete in the job market, and often yes they might have low IQ, but that is not their fault, or a fault needing to be insulted. Why would I ever discredit a person who has endured the tragedy of war, and prison-like living situations for countless hours for pennies on the dollar? It's like throwing rotten fruit at my mail carrier.

Do you have any family members who served time in the armed forces? When you interact with them about these ideas, is it a peaceful dialog, or is it perceived as rude and disruptive? Peace begins at home, in the heart. Thank you for reading my words.

Waiting on the reponse to your comment.

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I really thought somebody was going to try and carve me a new one for the comment I left. Looks like most people in the comments here feel like most veterans are being used as pawns, or don't deserve to be recognized as esteemed heroes. Are all veterans being used to serve a political agenda? That, I would say, is an outrageous generalization to support a conspiracy theory.

By definition, if any person considers someone a hero, that makes them a hero. Anyone who provides the role of a positive role-model to make people want to be a better person deserves some respect in that regard.

Maybe the comment writers here are sheepish cowards. What business does a coward have to insult any veteran for their heroic service? Yes, that would be awkward when speaking to a person who lost their eye from performing their duty, but not so awkward when hiding behind an anonymous identity. Now, I'm really deserving a response.

I am not saying we shouldn't be questioning some actions taken but for the most part I am glad I am not part of the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em crowd", my head feels pretty good on my shoulders and I surely do love my freedoms as a woman.

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