So I was thinking about Veterans Day and how weird the idea behind it is. It's so tightly wound with the cultural worship that seems to go along with the US military. Besides the veterans of World War I and II, what is being celebrated? The day originally marked the armistice of World War I, but it seems to be so far from celebrating peace today.
Why is someone who spent 18 months slogging around a base, or drone bombing random Pakistanis considered a hero, to be protecting our freedoms, to be serving our country? Who in this country are they actually serving, and what are they actually protecting us from? When people use that kind of language they expect that it makes the military exempt from any sort of criticism, disconnected from what they actually do. I don't see what invading Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, or Somalia did to protect or serve the US. I don't see why we should be proud that $682 billion will be spent this year on an army when our Congress claims we can't afford food stamps, basic research or healthcare.
Obligatory cost of war link
I know the military is an employer of last resort for many, making it difficult to blame the soldiers on the ground. But they still choose to take part in a unit that instigates rather than defends. This isn't to say there is no good in the military, or those in it haven't done good where they're deployed - I just don't think signing up for a fighting force is a job worthy of the language and reverence that it currently gets. There are so many people in this country struggling to make it a better place through service and self-sacrifice - we could be celebrating them in the name of peace instead.
Maybe I am jealous of everyone who got off of work.
That pastry heart was so good, definitely better than Dunkin Donuts.