It used to be, to this baby boomer, that July 4th was reserved for barbeques and fireworks. We were kids back in the 50s and early 60s, before Vietnam, and we had fun. Well, things changed quickly with the advent of America’s latest phony war by 1965. Bob Hope was pushed out of retirement to entertain , along with Playboy bunnies and other celebrities. The fine Coppola film Apocalypse Now captured the inane arrogance of our masters of empire and war. This is a must view for all out there who still hold dear to the foolish belief that we are truly an exceptional nation. All the burgers, beer and bangs cannot hold onto that flag for long. The flag belongs to the true patriots, those of us who stand up to the lies and the liars who run things.
The sad reality is how the ’embedded in empire media’ love to label our military personnel as Brave Warriors. From Korea, through Vietnam, Panama , Afghanistan and Iraq right into this current time, our callous leaders have shipped our military into those places for no legitimate reason. Imperialism does such actions, and justifies it all through hollow phrases like ‘ Instilling democracy’ and ‘ Protecting the citizenry’. Our soldiers, some too young to even shave, have been continuously placed into the hornet’s nests to kill and be killed… for what humane or moral purpose? They became and still are becoming pawns in what the late Zbigniew Brzezinski , President Carter’s National Security Advisor, labeled The Grand Chessboard. America, sorry Mr. Obama and other Neo Cons, is not the ‘ Exceptional Nation’ or The World’s Policeman’. This is why so many millions of citizens of the aforementioned nations out and out hate us.
How about that bunch of men who waved the flag and rallied the public for ‘ USA USA’, yet made sure to never have to be sent into what the Vietnam Vets referred to as ‘ The Shit’. Dick Cheney had more deferments than he had fingers on one hand. Junior Bush took the Air National Guard route that guaranteed he would never have to fly over Nam. Donald Trump, who as a collegiate student, received five deferments, the first being for bone spurs on his foot. The other four were 2-S, student deferments. Please remember that Trump, like Junior Bush and Cheney, was vociferous in his support of our being in Vietnam. One wonders how many other American men who could have served but chose not to will be hoisting a Bud, gobbling a burger, banging some fireworks and waving a flag this July 4th.
PA Farruggio
June 30th 2023
For too many the 4th of July is just a day ‘off’ and many might not even know what this date stands for. Flying the flag by no means a patriot makes one.
I agree. we have been taken over by ethnocentrism. It was always there but amplified during the Vietnam (phony) War era.
Philip, the article in this month’s Atlantic magazine on the crisis in military recruitment suggests that recruitment for our “all volunteer force” is in deep trouble. That’s probably not good news no matter how the Congress responds, but the statistics in the article do perhaps explain why many are not too worried about our overseas adventures.