"With this, or upon this" is what Spartan women said to their men as they handed them their shields in preparation for battle. It means return to Sparta in one of two ways, victorious or dead.
For the past eight years Bush and his neocons have been cultivating this Spartan ethos and it is carried forth dutifully by the McCain/Palin campaign. It matters little that the Iraq war was an unnecessary mistake, or that is has ruined a country. Victory -American victory- is the only option and "doggone it" they will fight to the last Iraqi to achieve this victory. Any reflection upon the cause or the conduct of the war is defeatist and tantamount to treason. As in Sparta, this all or none attitude is fostered by a delusional jingoistic attitude. America, they believe, is the exceptional country, the righteous country that can do no wrong, a force for good against all that is evil. And because of these immutable qualities, America has to remain the strongest and richest country in the world and has the right to war to preserve that status. Yet the intrinsic contradiction of the last two statements seems to escape the true believers. How can America possibly be a force for good, if its first and only priority is to look out for number one.
The Spartan ethos is also manifest in the American fascination with war and everything military. There is proliferation of violent computer war games and cable channels dedicated to new and more deadly weaponry. Members of the armed forces are put on a pedestal and are beyond reproach, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and other dishonorable deeds not withstanding. In fact these soldiers are not called soldiers any more; they are mythical warriors. And of course, every fallen warrior is a hero, never mind that some of these "warriors" became soldiers to escape grinding poverty or as a shortcut to citizenship. Whereas fallen warriors become heroes, those who come back neither "with" nor "upon" their shields, the horribly injured and mutilated, are tucked into underfunded veterans hospitals and all but forgotten.
For many Americans, the Spartan mystique is an easy sell; it is simple and morally self-justifying. Moreover, war for the vast majority of Americans is an abstraction that happens elsewhere requiring sacrifices that are borne by few Americans. Yet, happily, after eight years, Sparta is loosing its sparkle for many Americans. The reality of endless war and the arrogance of American imperialism disguised as American exceptionalism is wearing thin. Change is finally coming on November 4th and the rest of the world will let out a collective sigh of relief.
6 comments:
Abu Kareem - I agree with the general thrust of this piece, but I fear that not much will change in November, first because the problem is far greater than the face at the top, and second because Obama seems even more sold on the 'war on terror' than McCain. Obama was the first to recommend ignoring Pakistani sovereignty so as to bomb Waziristan. Pakistan is already in a state of chaos as a result of its alliance with the US. IF the US slips into a war there, as could easily happen, the world will be nostalgic for the Iraq war.
Qunfuz,
Thanks for the comment. On the Pakistan issue, I fully agree. My hope is that what he said about the issue before had more to do with electioneering and trying to appear tough and less with his actual stance. Obama is not a thick headed ideologue, unlike the present disaster of a president, he is capable of nuanced thinking and I believe that his policies will reflect that. Most of all the American public is now clearly divided between those who fully buy into the war-until-victory mentality and those who want none of it. The latter are the ones who brought Obama to where he is. We can only hope.
Have you read The Deserter's Tale by Joshua Key? It highlights the disaster and tragedy of the Iraq invasion for the Iraqis and any American soldier who develops a conscience. Layer upon layer it exposes the corruption and perniciousness of the American war machine. Not that we don't know the extent of the disaster...but it should be required reading for everyone - especially those with their heads in the sand!! Excellent post and I pray that you are correct about your election predictions.
Mariyah,
Thanks for the comment. I will certainly look up this book.
I hope you are right. I will be "voting for change," but I am fearful that it'll be McCain who winds up in office.
is soo sad when I remember each one of my friend to fought for nothing, you can imagine the pain of lose someone who is imnportant to you, and the worts part see the widow and her son crying over a empty flag, only for a ideal that really never exist.
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