W.J. Astore: The NFL Draft and America First

American society is inclined to militarism. Americans call it patriotism. It is the American mindset. It’s evident in all professional sports but especially in the National Football league.

 

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Truthdig: Martin Luther King’s Revolutionary Dream Deferred

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of King’s tragic assassination, and though countless publications will brim with commemorations and retrospectives of this misunderstood icon, most will miss the mark. Long ago co-opted and sanitized by mainstream political figures, the King of memory bears little resemblance to the radical, complex man himself.

 

 

 

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Memorial Day’s Stark Reminders

Memorial Day is the day we commemorate America’s men and women who have been killed as a result of America’s wars. To a majority of Americans it only means that it’s the beginning of the summer season and of picnics, vacations and days on the beach. It’s a day many celebrate with a traditional barbecue cookout. Once known as Decoration Day, it’s the time of the year we spruce up and decorate the nation’s cemeteries. It’s also a day to display the red, white, and blue. It’s a day of parades, echo taps, firing squads, fireworks, and of war hero idolatry enhanced by legends and tales of war.

Personally, Memorial Day has much deeper meaning than the promise of summer, cookouts and parades. For me the day is not full of strong patriotic feeling. Rather, I see it as a day we seemingly glorify war as a necessary part of our lives; a day that promotes a belief that if we didn’t have a military we wouldn’t have a country. It’s a day we exploit wars’ fallen warriors to promote patriotism and militarism.

For me, Memorial Day is a stark reminder of …

Read article here: Memorial Day’s Stark Reminders

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