Top 7 Ways of REALLY not Supporting the Troops
October 21st, 2007 by Kavan WolfeOne of the most effective ways of restraining civil dissent and quelling criticism of government is to argue that any form of criticism of, or even open debate about, government policies is somehow unpatriotic or treason. This same strategy manifests itself in some religions where questioning or thinking critically about religious institutions is supposedly sinful. Both cases are absurd, and for symmetrical reasons: the government has confused itself with its nation, and the religious institution has confused itself with its deity. Today, I’ll limit myself to the government side.
Patriotism and Treason
Merriam-Webster Online defines patriotism as:
“love for or devotion to one’s country,”
and treason as
“the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family.”
Two things must be pointed out. First, devotion to one’s country has nothing to do with devotion to one’s government or one’s military. If you love your country, you are patriotic, regardless of whether you think the government is corrupt and military is incompetent. Second, criticizing the government is not treason. Disagreeing with your leader’s policies is not treason. Calling your leader a liar and a war criminal is not treason. Publicly attacking a four-star general for betraying the public by misleading them, is not treason.
Plotting to overthrow your government, or killing its leader is treason - nothing else.
Because “treason” and “patriotism” have these pesky definitions, US officials prefer the phrase, “not supporting the troops.” Here, “the troops” is an abstract concept that usually conjures up an image of brave, clean-shaven, athletic, innocent young men who love their country and want to defend it. The inaccuracy of this image aside, if politicians can make it sound like calling a war stupid is somehow hurting the poor, brave souls on the front line, it makes people hesitate to criticize. This is bullshit. At the same time, these hypocritical government assholes are proactively, idiotically screwing over their own military!
Top 7 Ways of Not Supporting the Troops
7. Lying to them - telling soldiers (and families of soldiers) that their comrades died defending their nation, when they actually died from friendly fire, in training, or in a pointless unwinnable war is not supporting them, it’s brainwashing them!
6. Not approving sufficient leave - In case you missed this, U.S. republicans, the people who most often pull this criticizing us is not supporting the troops bullshit, blocked a bill intended to give troops more time at home.
5. Giving veterans the shaft - Two words: Walter Reed.
4. Hiring mercenaries - Has it occured to anyone that the $445 000 / year the US military pays for each Blackwater merc might pay for better equipment for actual soldiers?
3. Bad equipment - Sending soldiers into battle without sufficient body armor, in unarmored vehicles, lacking even socks for chrissake, is completely unacceptable in a modern military.
2. Torturing enemy combatants - You know what just makes a soldier’s day? How about when the guys who’ve been shooting at you run low on supplies and surrender? That’s nice, huh? You know who doesn’t surrender? People who think they’re going to be tortured half to death in Guantanamo Bay, that’s who. If dying in battle sounds preferable to the treatment you’ll get as a P.O.W., you wouldn’t stand down, would you? And don’t give me any crap about ‘fanatics will never surrender.’ Muslim insurgents are people with children and dreams and fears just like everyone else, not Batman and Rambo. And don’t give me any crap about information obtained through torture helping the troops either. News flash: people who are tortured don’t give accurate information. They say whatever they think will make the guy with the testicle taser leave them alone.
And the number one way of not supporting the troops…
1. Sending them to unnecessary wars - if you really care about all those brave men and women in the armed forces, you wouldn’t get them shot, blown up, captured and beheaded, or shrapneled to death by sending them into unneeded battles, would you?
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I couldn’t have said things better myself. Whenever someone says “support the troops” I always ask them what that means. Support them while they’re in a death trap or try and get them out of it?
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
politicians lie, gi’s die. never changes.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 pm
It completely escapes me how anyone can not think that everything in this column is true. All of the items are verifiable and make excellent sense. How long has little George been President again? Why don’t more people get it?
October 24th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
You may not agree with the war, but it isin’t the soldier’s fault where they go or what their assignment is, and when entering a war, you should do so to win, the soldiers deserve the best equipment money can buy, this is America.
Before entering the war, George should have sat down, and thought about whether or not he wanted a fight, because once you’re there, half-assing it won’t cut it, and that is what the government is doing.
October 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
When you use the word “leader” to refer to a governing “representative” you perpetuate a problem of perception. Governments in democratic countries are not leaders, they’re representatives.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:20 am
[…] The War On Bullshit: Top 7 Ways of REALLY not Supporting the Troops Doet me denken aan een quote van Bill Hicks: “I was in the uneviable position of being FOR the war, but AGAINST the troops”
(tags: troops, war) […]
November 9th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Thank you.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I recommend you dont post things like this. You will get yourself in trouble.
and look, of course were not going to take care of those soldiers. we send them out there to Die, thats the point, soldiers are a danger to capitalist society so the sooner they die the better. why do you Think we do all these things you mention?!!
Patriotism is a word spoken far too much and acted on very little. But the US Government is the Height of true patriotism.
+John -youre either clever or very very stupid.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I would like to see a continuation of the topic
May 10th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Orthopedic Wrist Braces…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….