Patriotism and Bravery
I have often stated that the U.S. government is run by a bunch of clueless buffoons, poverty pimps, do-gooder nannies, power-crazed micromanagers, and bloodthirsty warmongers.  For this, I have been accused of being unpatriotic. They say that a true patriot shows honor and respect to their duly elected leaders.
Patriotism.Â
That is one very loaded word.Â
Allow me to respond to the charge:
I love this land. I love my people.  I love our heritage, our culture, and our unique way of life. However, I do not love our government. In fact, I despise and loathe this stupid farce we call "government." I wish it would just go away, or at least shrink down to a tiny fraction of its present size.Â
Does that make me unpatriotic?
As for these so-called "leaders:" there is not one single politician currently in office that I voted for. In fact, of all the politicians holding office all over the country, less than 1% would get my vote, given the option. Yet I'm told that I must honor them?
Closely related is this concept they call "bravery." As my loyal readers know, I am very much opposed to the current U.S. foreign policy of trying to establish a global military empire, picking sides in every conflict across the globe, and ready to go to war anywhere, anytime, for any reason - all at the expense of taxpayers and live soldiers. The hard-core neo-conservatives will claim that the U.S. is not an "empire" - it’s just part of being a "superpower." But that's the same thing with just a more patriotic-sounding euphemism.
For my views, I have been called a coward. Again, let me respond to the charge:Â
I have no qualms about blowing the brains out of any foreigner who means harm to me, my home, and my family.  And not just foreigners - I'd do the same thing to native-born evildoers. Does this make me a coward?
What I have described is "defense." And in fact, I have no philosophical aversion to a government-run military whose sole purpose is defending Americans on American soil. But the U.S. military budget for 2023 is $780 Billion.  That divides out to $2600 annually for every man, woman, and child (or over $10k for a family of four). Again - that’s just for the military. Why so much? Mainly because the U.S. is committed to defending 67 nations worldwide. Today we are hearing calls that the U.S. military must be ready to go and defend the tiny Asian island of Taiwan.
But most of these foreign military campaigns over the past few decades could more accurately be called "offense" (see: Iraq invasion). The hard-core neoconservatives will of course say: "The best defense is a good offense!" Maybe in sports, but military operations and war should not be thought of as a "sport." And offense and defense are not the same thing. The purpose of defense is to prevent war. The purpose of offense is to wage war.
In the TV series "Downton Abbey," which takes place in England from 1914 to the 1930s, there is an episode when World War I breaks out. All of the males in the story are all fired-up and gung-ho to join the military and go fight for "country and king"! It's reminiscent of the movie "Gone With the Wind", where the American Civil War breaks out, and all the Southern boys are whooping and hollering and running around all-so-excited to join the army and go kill some Yanks! Â
In these and other stories, once the war finally winds down, we see that most of the formerly gung-ho combatants are either dead, maimed, or very disillusioned. And then people ask: after all this death and destruction, why did we do that? Have we made the world a better place?Â
Of course, the people who asked that tough question before all the bloodshed were labeled unpatriotic cowards.
As in all things a generalized position concerning America's foreign adventures is hard to defend or support. While I'm not willing to argue in favor of our involvement in the First World War, the Second seemed purposeful and resulted in a favorable way. I can't think of any war since about which the same can be said. Our rebellion against England achieved a result for which we are (or should be) grateful. That result would not have been won without a war. The War of 1812 was brought to us by foreigners and we were obliged to oppose them in defense of our country and ourselves. Our Civil War was a great tragedy but it was not a thing anyone wanted, only a thing that seemed necessary at the time. My grandfather fought with Teddy in the Spanish-American War. All these years later that seems to me more an adventure than a cause, but maybe you had to be there. I can understand and admire a young man's willingness to fight for what he believes. But why he would exhibit an excitement and joy at the prospect has always been outside my ability to understand.