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No, I Don’t Support the Troops
I usually stay pretty quiet on Memorial Day. I know that it’s one of the times people are least likely to be open to hearing my views on war and the military. They’re all pumped up and righteous about honoring their fallen heroes, about “remembering those who died to protect our freedom”, so why would they want to listen to someone trash their holiday and tell them their beliefs are a lie? I’ve also grown tired of losing friends over issues that have nothing to do with our friendship, and I know that an argument with me isn’t going to change most people’s minds. There just doesn’t seem to be much point in speaking out about it in my personal circles – especially on days like Memorial Day.
But something happened recently that has changed my mind. Our daughter has a developmental disability for which she receives a lot of therapy each week. One of her favorites is equine therapy – therapeutic horseback riding – and one of her favorite therapists is a 16-year-old girl who I’ll call Kate. Kate is one of the most beautiful, intelligent, kind and caring young women I have ever met. She is also very strong, generous and – for lack of a better word – good. She has all the spirit and energy and exuberance about the world that everyone should have at sixteen. Kate has been riding since she was a small child and has a real gift for the work she does with our daughter. She has an uncanny ability to connect with the horses and with nonverbal little girls like my own. It is as if she was born to do this work.
I was sitting with Kate’s mom one day a few months ago, watching my daughter have her session with another therapist while Kate rode her own horse at the other end of the arena. She told me that Kate had one more year of (homeschooling) high school and I asked what her plans were after that. She said that she was hoping to join the Air Force.
My heart fell into my stomach and I was sure Kate’s mom saw the look on my face. We talked some more. She told me that it seemed like the best option available, that the Air Force would pay for Kate’s college, and that it appealed to her adventurous spirit. When my daughter’s session was over I left, feeling shattered and powerless. I knew there was nothing I could say to Kate to get her to change her mind, just as there was nothing her mother could say. She was sixteen years old – she wasn’t going to let a couple of grown ups tell her what to do with her life. We could try gently offering her other alternatives, but that was about it. Her imagination had already been sparked by something over which we had no power.
Over the next few weeks I couldn’t get my mind off of my conversation with Kate’s mom. I was worried about Kate, I was afraid for her, I was baffled by her choice. And the more I thought about it, the more I found myself getting angry. This wasn’t just some choice that had appeared out of thin air. This was something Kate had been primed for since she was a small child. Billions of dollars had gone into a global PR campaign, and the military had exerted a great deal of influence over the media she saw, from the movies and television shows she watched, to an advertising campaign that puts Leni Riefenstahl to shame, all aimed at creating an image of the U.S. military as a benevolent organization and soldiers as heroes. What I realized was that the military PR machine had been preparing her for a very long time. And now it had her.
Just as powerful as that machine though, were the values held and expressed by the culture she has grown up in: The ubiquitous yellow flags reminding her to “support the troops”; the “Thank a soldier” bake sales and care-packages; the military discounts offered by everyone but the local meth dealer; and most of all the two constant refrains that must never, ever, be questioned: “The soldiers are fighting for our freedom”, and “you can disagree with the war, but you must support the soldier.”
Well no, they aren’t, and no, I don’t.
I’ll be blunt: If you believe that the U.S. military is in the business of protecting the freedoms of U.S. citizens, you have been sold a bill of goods. With the possible exception of the War for Independence, this country’s military has never fought a defensive war – much less a defensive war against an aggressor that intended to take our freedoms from us. And for anyone who hasn’t noticed, our freedom has only diminished with each military engagement.
I suppose that reasonable people can disagree about the merits of specific wars or military actions – although if you really understand what war is about, it becomes harder to defend any of them. It is certainly a difficult task to defend any of the U.S. military’s actions in the last fifty years. Most of the rest of the world recognizes it for the violent aggressor that it is.
Must I support the soldiers who go to war, even if I am against that war? No, I mustn’t. If anything, I believe that we have a moral obligation not to support soldiers who agree to fight in immoral wars. At some point, we have to hold people responsible for their own actions. (There was a time when I thought the Nuremberg trials had settled this issue, but I now see that I was naive to think that.)
In my experience, those who “support the troops” – whatever their position on the war of the day – do not tend to do so out of a reasoned position about what war is, or what the U.S. military really stands for. They do it more out of base tribalism and a lifetime of consuming propaganda and growing up in a culture that glorifies militarism.
This glorification of the military, and of soldiers, is a weapon. It is a weapon that was used to recruit a beautiful young girl into a life of killing – and possibly dying – to serve the interests of the state and its corporate cronies. It is a weapon that is now being aimed at my own children, my son in particular, and that is why I am no longer willing to maintain a polite silence around my “non-political” friends about this. If you actively support the glorification of the military, then I have a problem with you. If you own a business that offers discounts to members of the military, then I have a problem with you. If you put a “support the troops” bumper sticker on your car, I have a problem with you. Because all of these things contribute to the mindless glorification of killing and dying for the state. All of these things help to support a cultural machinery that exists for the purpose of turning my son – and maybe yours – into cannon fodder. And yes, I have a problem with that.
Can we still be friends? I hope we can. But know that I have a real problem with your support for an organization that I believe to be fundamentally immoral and a direct threat to my family.
Do I expect to change anyone’s mind by expressing my views? I don’t, really. Except in this one sense: By refusing to be one more silent bystander, I can ensure that those who cheer on the war machine will know that not everyone shares their view. And that the children and teenagers who are watching will also see that opinion on this is not monolithic, that not everyone “supports the troops” and that maybe they should think very carefully about what they support and what they don’t.
There is a massive PR war going on right now and it is a war for the hearts and minds of young people – including the heart and mind of my son. I’m no longer going to stand by and pretend that I don’t object to it.
Bretigne Shaffer's Truth and Fiction
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David Montgomery May 31, 2016 , 7:20 pm Vote3
That’s a heartbreaking story. I had a similar experience with a family whose son joined the military out of college. His father said, “If he gets into the Ranger program, he can write his own ticket.” Challenging that assertion ended the friendship unfortunately. I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
I wrote an overview of the ubiquity of the military propaganda apparatus. It’s horrifying. https://bananas.liberty.me/escape-the-worlds-biggest-racket-politics-and-the-age-of-decentralization/#propagandist
Todd Baker May 31, 2016 , 7:31 pm Vote0
I take it that Kate (or whatever her name is) is still going into the Air Force?
Bretigne Shaffer May 31, 2016 , 7:41 pm Vote1
It’s unsure – she still has some time to make up her mind. I’m going to try to be an influence with her, but I honestly don’t know how much I can do.
Yilmaz Rona May 31, 2016 , 9:12 pm
Accept that you are helpless to change her mind, and that her life is ultimately her responsibility.
You could always sit her down and have an adult conversation where you lay out your concerns about her decision, but only if you are willing to respect her decision afterwards.
If you don’t feel you can have that conversation, then you should really just not say anything and let her live her life in peace.
Bretigne Shaffer June 2, 2016 , 7:10 pm Vote0
Yes, that is sound advice. I’m not sure she would be open to such a conversation, but I already know that the decision is hers and I will still respect and care about her regardless of what she chooses.
Marchella May 31, 2016 , 9:29 pm Vote2
This is excellent Bretigne.
I have a similar situation irl, breaks my heart to see these kids being used as pawns. Perhaps take your young friend to a veteran’s hospital or visit a PTSD place for vets, might make her consider another perspective before joining.
Bretigne Shaffer June 2, 2016 , 7:12 pm Vote0
If she were my own child, I would absolutely do this – however I am not close enough to her that this would be appropriate. I wish someone were putting as much money into an anti-recruitment drive, though, complete with interviews with vets suffering from PTSD, lost limbs, etc., as there is going into the pro-military PR.
Daniel Seelhorst May 31, 2016 , 9:31 pm
I nearly went into the Army while I was still in the fold if statism. While there is no shortage of patriotism among recruits, for myself, and for most of those I’ve known who have been in, it was primarily selfish motivations that let one towards joining. The adventurism, socio-economic advancement, and having an honored place in the popular mythology make a heady cocktail.
Bretigne Shaffer June 2, 2016 , 7:15 pm Vote0
I’m sure that’s true for most who sign up. What I hear most often is “they paid for/will pay for my education!” I guess what’s most disturbing to me is not that these kids go through a lot of soul searching and examination of the facts and just come up with a different conclusion about being in the military than I do – it’s that they never even seem to question its morality.
David Montgomery June 1, 2016 , 12:34 am Vote3
I like Marchella’s idea. You also could make her aware of Daniel Somers’ letter to his wife and parents.
Another thought is to let her know about the long history of U.S. soldiers being experimented on and poisoned like lab rats by mustard gas, zinc cadmium sulfide, Agent Orange, Sarin, VX, nuclear radiation, BZ, PCP, and LSD, depleted uranium, and burn pits. Supporting links for all these are here.
Paul Boore June 3, 2016 , 9:51 pm Vote2
From reading your “logic” I can tell that you think the military or soldiers make wars. I am a 21 year veteran, and I fully support your freedom to make your own decisions about what is good and not. I have no interest in changing your opinion of how the process works…just to say this: soldiers follow the commands of their leaders. In our world, the Commander is a civilian elected by all the people in the land…the President. Whether I agree with that person is immaterial, I have orders to follow, and I follow them as presented (unless I know they are unlawful, and then it is my sworn duty to not follow them). That being said, to be willing to put your life on the line to ensure others (like yourself) have the opportunities they want and need to succeed in their “pursuit of happiness” takes grit. You know that there is an ever-present potential danger.
Having said that, in my 21 years of active duty in the Air Force, I never saw combat in any form, other than being in a stateside combat room 12 hours on/12 off. I thank God that I never was put in a position to kill or be killed, but if that had been my responsibility, I would have shouldered it.
I was against the “war” in Viet Nam, but was not called to duty as it ended just as I went 1A. Why would a career “soldier” write that warriors don’t make war…it is because not once has the US military gone rogue…never. The ONLY time any soldier has made war on anyone was when the civilian leaders ordered it…Congress and the President. It seems you have an issue more with the political process gone awry than with the soldiers, but you seem to be taking it out on the combatant force as opposed to the legislative force.
I’ve said my piece. I don’t blame you for your position, I just think it is misplaced and that the genuine spirit and wholeness of heart of those who put their own lives on the line should be commended instead of contradicted.
Randall Chester Saunders June 4, 2016 , 12:34 pm Vote1
“I can tell that you think the military or soldiers make wars.”
They do! Without soldiers, suckers willing to kill and die for no reason other then, “following orders,” there could be no wars. My grandmother used to say, there will always be wars until all the young men refuse to fight. But there will always be the young and gullible who have no real experience of life and believe all the lies of the politicians.
Die for your politicians if you like, but don’t pretend you are doing anything for me. If you really want to be of value, quit the life of a killer, and become a productive individual producing something of value. Why would you think living a life with the sole purpose of producing death and destruction is nobel? Any savage can do that.
David Montgomery June 4, 2016 , 1:47 pm Vote2
Paul, war is when complete strangers murder each other because politicians tell them to. It’s a racket which makes a handful of people extremely wealthy at the cost of everyone else.
https://bananas.liberty.me/escape-the-worlds-biggest-racket-politics-and-the-age-of-decentralization/#warmonger
Lee Roesner June 30, 2016 , 12:00 pm Vote0
@bretigneshaffer So what you’re saying then, Paul, is Bretagne is responsible for state of military and its actions, and I’m responsible, your responsible, everyone in the USA is responsible for the US militaries actions. I would agree.
The military is force…that’s all it is. It’s a hammer. And the nature of a hammer is not democracy, but a dictatorship, because a dictatorship is, well, force.
And who is the dictator? The President? Nope. It’s you and me. We are telling it what to do, by our action and/or inaction, through democratic means.
But then, the twisted view of the military is for the same reason, we have a twisted view of the big mean, scary State. How many here reading this are not going to vote…even by writing in your candidate in protest. There were many running now and in the past, that are against foreign intervention, but they never become popular. Sure, its partly because of the propaganda machine, but then it does not matter, long as you vote, and write in your own candidate, win or loose.
I would recommend you consider speaking against foreign invasion and the use of the military, instead of against the military itself. They’re just taking orders, and they need to be taking orders. You should be taking aim at our leaders, who command the military, that hold the moral compass, which again would be us.
Most everyone would agree, we need this tool in the shed that is the military, in the hopes of never having to use it. The state of its condition, and its actions though, are ultimately determined by us.
Phil Weaver June 7, 2016 , 7:30 pm Vote2
I’ve run into this a few times with young girls I’ve trained. The last one was denied admittance due to a small chest (lung capacity) but got a doctor to write a letter and got in. Eventually was discharged with severely damaged lungs.
Another one is planning on going but I have a few years to convince her otherwise.
Both came from terrible family situations and the military seems a fast escape for them.
Your words touched me. Had never thought about it in those terms even though the Buddhist principle of right livelihood is dear to me.
Thank you for your article. You have inspired me to wield my influence, of which I have considerably more than the average adult with these young ones. Maybe I can do some good.
Tyler Christensen June 18, 2016 , 5:28 am Vote0
To put it bluntly, I think that the last war that was really about defending our freedoms was WWII. If not for our military, we would either be speaking Japanese or German right about now. The others since then have just been for the politicians benefit or the gaining of oil. Yes, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS are all savage, despicable organizations, but I don’t think that we should be using massive troop numbers like what we did in Afghanistan and Iraq. I mean, they lack the firepower to overthrow our entire system of government and assume control over every aspect of our lives. We need to be fighting them intelligently by using SpecOps and assassins. Oh, and they would have to contend with the fact that we the people have guns. Btw, I salute (no pun intended) your courage to post an unpopular opinion here. However, I would like to add that the real reason why I admire the military is because its members are taught values that are, quite frankly, not being taught anymore to society. In many cases, even ridiculed. I’m talking about values like perseverance. Have you ever met a vet who would quit in the face of adversity? Sadly, it’s go to papa government for help nowadays anytime some trouble comes one’s way. Either that or go to the pharmacy for a prescription refill. In my opinion, we owe the veterans our respect because of the example that they set. True freedom comes from the perseverance of working hard every day and never giving in to the devil on your shoulder telling you to surrender.
Roland Walkenhorst June 28, 2016 , 12:29 pm Vote0
“Sadly, it’s go to papa government for help nowadays anytime some trouble comes one’s way.”
But killing for papa government is OK?
“Have you ever met a vet who would quit in the face of adversity?”
Isn’t suicide the ultimate quitting? Last I heard there are 22 such quitters a day among vets.
jeffersonianideal November 9, 2016 , 8:41 pm Vote0
Sorry for the interruption. Are you the same person who praised Lew Rockwell for his political prognosticating?
Randall Chester Saunders June 18, 2016 , 2:42 pm
@mangomonster390
“the real reason why I admire the military is because its members are taught values …”
Have you been in the military? The military is an absolute dictatorship. There is only one rule in the military, Obey! It teaches regimentation by means of the threat of force. Until one has reached some rank, and becomes part of, “the chain of command,” the military is totalitarian determining where one sleeps, what one wears, what one eats, and as far as possible, what one thinks. Great preparation for life in a free society.
As for moral values, what most recruits learn is every sordid hedonistic practice one can get away with. If one does not swear, relish vile jokes and stories about sex and harming those … [put any vile epithet for reviled human beings here], drink, or take drugs, they will have learned all those things by the time they are out of basic training.
Michael Chirani June 23, 2016 , 5:12 pm Vote3
Let me start off with the basics. I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after four years of active duty service. I enlisted in 2003, straight out of high school and in the midst of a war.
Why did I do it?
Yeah, I seem to recall a certain amount of chest thumping, pretending I cared about 9/11 on a personal level and somehow feeling that this act of mine would involve me protecting U.S. freedom.
But I was also no dummy. I knew my history. My grandfather served in Korea. My father was in Vietnam. I was pretty aware by 18 that those wars did nothing to “protect” the U.S. My grandfather drank the Kool-Aid. He felt that if he didn’t singlehandedly stop communism from crossing the 38th parallel then the Soviets were going to walk right into Manhattan and take away all of our apple pie. My father was a bit more cynical and he recognized it, more or less, for what it was.
South Vietnam was hardly a bastion of freedom. And we have no problem propping up dictators when they suit our needs and we will just as easily assassinate, or provide the means to assassinate, a popular (and democratically elected) leader if they come off as too commie for us.
I knew all of this and yet, there I was, swearing my oath. Part of it was that you can’t fully let go of the BS patriotism just by reading books. That’s pounded into your head in school from kindergarten upward. You need some experience to see, first hand, just how messed up the whole system is. But the other part was that I lived in an incredibly crappy and depressing town that saw its last hey day some time in the late 1950s. Mom and Dad were adamant about not letting me go away for college because the newspaper carried a story every week or so about some idiot at a college an hour away drinking himself to death.
I needed out.
At 18 I could have gone to trade school and then moved wherever. I could have gone to college without their help. I could have just gathered my pennies, loaded up my decrepit Dodge Spirit and just driven until I ran out of gas or road.
But there was the Navy offering me a way out. A paycheck, some snazzy clothes and a one-way ticket out of crap town. So I took it. I don’t regret it, really. I got some good training. I got the GI Bill (two, actually, I paid into the Montgomery GI Bill but I also got the Post-9/11). Undergrad and masters degree both paid for, no debt. And that honorable discharge looks mighty fine on a resume.
Was I part of an evil war machine? Yeah, I was. I recognize the full scope of it after the fact. My protest is that I give it no more of my time. Not in the military. Not as a civilian. Not as a voter. But I wanted to see the world beyond my crappy town and crappy state. Did that. I went to countries that my classmates never even heard of. I also HATED it while I was in. I couldn’t wait to get out. But, in retrospect, it wasn’t the worst way to spend four years.
When I encounter young folks saying they want to enlist I want to shake them and tell them about all of the things they can do that would be better. You’re young. Go backpacking across Europe. Paint a picture. Sculpt something. But that’s a clarity that I have because I went and saw. I wouldn’t recommend the Marines or the Army because the cost of “going and seeing” could easily be getting killed.
But, generally speaking, the Navy and the USAF are a safe bet. Evil war machine? Yeah. But I’ll bet the stormtroopers had a heck of a dental plan on the death star.
Rose McConnell June 29, 2016 , 10:26 pm Vote3
Excellent piece. Well written. A real punch to the solar plexus, which is called for under the circumstances. I think you are right in sourcing the problem in a complete stream of propaganda that we are all subjected to these days.
Robert Eetheart April 25, 2017 , 8:43 pm Vote2
You are an amazing person, and I love to see that I’m not the only one.
Now, I moved to the US 2 years ago from Scandinavia, and I was hit with a culture shock beyond anything. Friends and family of mine were talking about the US military, US superiority like it was some kind of god. I was flabbergasted by some of the things I’ve heard.
I was even more upset when I discovered Abby Martin’s show Empire Files (check it out on Youtube) where she uncovers some of the most horrific secrets/not-very-well-known-facts about the US Empire, military as well.
How in the world can I nod along when people talk about supporting the troops? I can’t. I can understand why someone would want to join — we all want to feel important, we all want to save the day, right? But sadly those people are misguided. If they knew some of the atrocities their country has committed in the last 5-10 years, they would never join the military. At least, I hope so.
Sadly I’ve been met with a lot of resistance and, what I like to call, willful ignorance from many. So much that some people have called me Anti-American and asked why I don’t just move back to Europe. Wifey and I do plan on moving back in the near future, but not for those reasons.
It was just surprising to me how people get offended when you challenge the decayed status quo.
Besides, as I’ve had to point out time and again, “Why don’t you just leave” mentality is never going to solve any problems at all. If we run from problems, rather than try to solve them by being a part of the solutions, it’s only going to get worse from there.
Once again, thank you so much for this insightful piece of writing. I’m so thrilled to see that I’m not the only one who sees the imperialistic behavior patterns bored into the minds of Americans.
Bretigne Shaffer April 25, 2017 , 9:53 pm Vote1
Thanks Robert.
I am as baffled as you are. Although I do think that the experience of living elsewhere contributes to our not being sucked into the… what, mass halucination? I have also lived (briefly) in Europe, and spent about a decade in Asia. The experience of seeing for yourself that things aren’t like this everywhere in the world is important, I think. I often feel like I’ve been air-dropped into North Korea and am trying to tell everyone that their Great Leader isn’t so great. Anyway, thanks for reading! It’s good to know there are others out there.