The Myth of War

We are inundated with the myths of war. Throughout our education system we are taught about the heroics of battle, the noble sacrifices of soldiers, and the hard earned freedoms they have won us. No matter how remote or how far removed from our territorial borders our troops might be, we are told that our GIs are fighting to protect our freedoms. The current slaughter of Iraqis we are told will not only bring them freedom and democracy but will also maintain our own freedoms.

Myths can be very dangerous. And few are as intoxicating as the myth of war. As Chris Hedges points out,

The young soldiers, trained well enough to be disciplined but encouraged to maintain their naive adolescent belief in invulnerability, have in wartime more power at their fingertips than they will ever have again. They catapult from being minimum wage employees at places like Burger King, facing a life of dead-end jobs with little hope of health insurance and adequate benefits, to being part of, in the words of the Marines, "the greatest fighting force on the face of the earth." The disparity between what they were and what they have become is breathtaking and intoxicating.

But war isn't only intoxicating for those who must fight in it. It can be just as intoxicating for those of us on the sidelines. People love to win. What could be more exhilirating than to root on our troops as they pulverize their latest enemy?

Yet this only possible because we are spared the bitter brutality of war. The war is thousands of miles away. The dead and wounded are rarely ever seen. The war is merely something happening 'over there.'

We must begin to deconstruct the myths of war. It's siren call may always be alluring. But like Homer we must fasten ourselves to the mass of reality with the strong ropes of truth to buttress us from its enticing call.

The reality of war is death. It is an attack on our imagination. Is it any wonder that it is our artists who are typically the most vocally anti-war? They spend so much time harnassing and sharpening their creative and imaginitive talents it should be no wonder that they have no problem seeing alternatives to war.

War is not the answer. Please contact your congressional representatives and urge them to start fighting to put an end to this war. Our voices do matter. But we have to be persistant and patient.

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