No glory in war; just stimulates our darker impulse

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From the vault – 22 September 2011 (revised):

A nation at war, defending itself against a cruel enemy.

Hundreds and thousands of brave soldiers, laying down their lives to protect their country.

Millions on the home front, remembering them, honoring their sacrifices, and erecting monuments to their glory.

This is the stuff of myth and legend.

The whole history of humankind is replete with such myths and legends. Just fill in the blanks: Date of war, name of war, name of beleaguered country, name of enemy country, names of leaders (optional). There’s enough data to fill a library for your elucidation. Take your pick of wars; because humans have fought so many wars, large and small, down through the millennia, you’re sure to find something rewarding.

The United States of America has not been immune to myth and legend, even though its history is a relatively short one in the cosmic scheme of things. Already, our part in two world wars and our actions in Korea and Vietnam have entered that blessed realm of noble causes and heroic deeds, warming our hearts and sending thrills up and down our spines. Soon, it will not be too long before more recent wars we have fought will slip over the boundary between truth and myth/legend. Already, these conflicts are slouching toward canonization.

However others may describe these recent conflicts, The Chas prefers the term “sloppy sentimentalism.” As long as humans accept governmental propaganda over hard facts, they will continue to render such paeans of praise far into the future. They will forget what Santayana so wisely observed.

The plain fact of the matter is that all governments lie. From little white lies to medium-sized lies to big black lies, government indulges itself when the occasion arises for one or both of two basic reasons. One, government does not trust its citizens to be able to handle the truth; instead, it must protect them from potential psychosis and itself from overthrow. Two, government does not want its citizens to learn about the illegal and/or immoral acts it commits in their names and in the name of progress. If the truth were known, heads would roll, from the president down to the fourth assistant deputy secretary of Whatever Department. Government, being run by pragmatic bureaucrats, prefers to work in secret so that the colossal mistakes it makes and the heinous actions it takes, hopefully will go unnoticed.

Occasionally, the truth will out, and there will a hue-and-cry from right-minded citizens, pundits, and news reporters. This reaction will continue until someone spots Elvis in a downtown Las Vegas bar and everyone will shift their attention to this wondrous sighting. Mostly, however, the truth is quickly buried, for the greater good.

The greater good in 2002 was to nab the persons responsible for the attacks of 09/11/2001. This is the lure of war; humans will sacrifice everything, even the truth, in order to gain a victory, even if the victory is a Pyrrhic one. Thus, the United States’ recent war in Afghanistan was a war of choice rather than a war of necessity. Three presidents could not come to grips with the Big Lie.

And what was the Big Lie? Simply, the myths and legends which we had created for ourselves, that we could do no wrong and that whatever we did was noble and heroic, made us warm and cuddly inside. The truth made us cold and unsettled, and we shunned it with abandon. We have played the innocent in every foreign military adventure in which our government chose to participate, so much so that going to war has become second-nature. We dare not admit that our country might have made a mistake or three in its short history.

If you remember nothing else, dear reader, remember this: There is no glory in war, never has been, never will be, no matter what is the reason is. War is our darker impulses made physical.

Just a thought.

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