One of the strongest, most unanswerable points Moore made was actually one of his tertiary points: That it's the poorest, most disadvantaged young people -- the ones the system has failed miserably -- who are the first to join up to defend that system with their lives.
Yes, definitely. And the worst part of it, for me, is that you hear these kids who have come from hardscrabble or blue-collar backgrounds interviewed who simply believe what the government is telling them about the threat, etc. At least, they did until they got there. Even as they were going off at the beginning of this war, I was thinking what a tragedy this was--the way they were being lied to and their willingness taken advantage of. They marched in believing in the accuracy of the threat the administration had spelled out and found themselves in a mess every bit as complicated (and distinctly non-black/white) as Vietnam.
I suspect a lot of people who tell pollsters they support the war are essentially voting for something they haven't read -- they've been taken in by the propaganda of war being heroic and noble and clean ("just point at the target and shoot", as one young soldier in F911 said he'd expected).
OMG, I can't tell you how predictably this happens over and over again with each new generation! As you probably know, I've done extensive research of first-person accounts of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam, and especially in the early years (say, until 1966 or so) it was absolutely unbelievable the number of guys who said they'd expected war to be like a John Wayne movie: go in, blast the bad guys, holster your weapon and walk home. When I first came across this mindset it seemed inconceivable to me; I mean, anyone with half a brain can visualize what will happen on a battlefield when guns are fired.
But I've come to believe that part of the mindset is something that feeds coveniently (for the military) into the male (Superman) psyche--that 'invincible' state of mind guys have until they find out they're actually mortal. Soldiering looks like a chance to go out and prove you've got the right stuff, and the potential glory from doing that just kind of clouds over the nasty realities that anyone who's actually thinking will realize that war entails.
I do think it's possible for a reasoning person to support a particular war, but there's a lot for them to overcome if I'm going to respect their position. They need to see and accept the harsh reality of what they're supporting.
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Date: 2004-06-30 03:52 pm (UTC)Yes, definitely. And the worst part of it, for me, is that you hear these kids who have come from hardscrabble or blue-collar backgrounds interviewed who simply believe what the government is telling them about the threat, etc. At least, they did until they got there. Even as they were going off at the beginning of this war, I was thinking what a tragedy this was--the way they were being lied to and their willingness taken advantage of. They marched in believing in the accuracy of the threat the administration had spelled out and found themselves in a mess every bit as complicated (and distinctly non-black/white) as Vietnam.
I suspect a lot of people who tell pollsters they support the war are essentially voting for something they haven't read -- they've been taken in by the propaganda of war being heroic and noble and clean ("just point at the target and shoot", as one young soldier in F911 said he'd expected).
OMG, I can't tell you how predictably this happens over and over again with each new generation! As you probably know, I've done extensive research of first-person accounts of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam, and especially in the early years (say, until 1966 or so) it was absolutely unbelievable the number of guys who said they'd expected war to be like a John Wayne movie: go in, blast the bad guys, holster your weapon and walk home. When I first came across this mindset it seemed inconceivable to me; I mean, anyone with half a brain can visualize what will happen on a battlefield when guns are fired.
But I've come to believe that part of the mindset is something that feeds coveniently (for the military) into the male (Superman) psyche--that 'invincible' state of mind guys have until they find out they're actually mortal. Soldiering looks like a chance to go out and prove you've got the right stuff, and the potential glory from doing that just kind of clouds over the nasty realities that anyone who's actually thinking will realize that war entails.
I do think it's possible for a reasoning person to support a particular war, but there's a lot for them to overcome if I'm going to respect their position. They need to see and accept the harsh reality of what they're supporting.
Agreed.