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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The Equivocality of Patriotism

In the era of Trump, “we’re hearing about two very different types of patriotism. One is an inclusive patriotism that binds us together. The other is an exclusive patriotism that keeps others out.”

 

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Robert Reich: Trump’s Fourth of July

“On this coming Fourth of July, it’s worth pondering the true meaning of American patriotism — as opposed to the malignant, distorted view of it propounded by Donald J. Trump.”

 

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Perspectives: The Equivocality of Patriotism

In the era of Trump, “we’re hearing about two very different types of patriotism. One is an inclusive patriotism that binds us together. The other is an exclusive patriotism that keeps others out.”

Source: Perspectives: The Equivocality of Patriotism

 

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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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Reflections and Thoughts of Memorial Day 2011

Gravesite of Pembroke, Mass, resident Matthew Bean

On the way to work on Friday June 8th, 2007, I was driving through the center of my hometown where funeral preparations were being made for a twenty-two year old Pembroke man who lost his life in Iraq. His name is Matthew (Matty) Bean.

On May 19, 2007, Matty gave all he had to give during a door-to-door search for three captured U.S. soldiers in the Sunni Triangle region of Iraq.

It was a beautiful and picturesque morning, a Norman Rockwell moment, a warm reflection of small-town life and their patriotism.

Men, women, and children were gathering to pay their respect. Yellow ribbons and the “Red, White, and Blue” were everywhere. With yellow “Road Closed” easels ready to be put in place, and some street access denied by police

However, it was like Bush and Cheney had poured salt into an already open wound inflicted by war, and particularly the Iraq War. That little voice inside said, “how dare they kill a young man like Matty and continue to conduct their lives as if nothing has happened — those “SOB’s!”

Since that day, Memorial Day has had an even deeper meaning. On that day, almost four years ago, not only was I sickened at my government’s actions, but also at citizens who were there not only to show their respect, but dishearteningly they were there to celebrate war and their patriotism, too.

During my formative years, influential years during and immediately following a victorious World War II, nationalism, patriotism, and militarism gradually, subtly, and subliminally were encultured in every American. That enculturation instilled in me that I should support “my country right or wrong,” where nationalism and patriotism meant blind devotion to the United States of America and worshipping her Star Spangled Banner, and a notion that if we did not have a military we would not have a country! It was a time when every Memorial Day was a major celebration, attending parades and ceremonies in every town square instead of the beach or a cookout; a time of unquestionable Christian devotion; a time when every young man was expected to serve in the Armed Forces; a time when every school day began with a prayer and a pledge of allegiance to the flag; a time when I thought my government would never be deceitful and to be a politician was an honorable profession.

It was also a time when to Memorial Day marchers it meant a long parade, rain or shine, to every cemetery where the flag was placed at the gravesite of every veteran on that day — not on some other day — and where at every cemetery echo taps were played. It was a day, as today, of war hero idolatry enhanced by anecdotes of war.

Memorial Day is a day we set-aside to honor those who gave their all for America. But it is also a day when we glorify war, and a day we celebrate our nationalism, patriotism, and militarism via exploitation of our war heroes.

We should not forget on Memorial Day that many others did not give their lives, but they did give all of their futures: Men and Women wounded, disfigured/disabled, mentally/physically, for the rest of their lives, some with very horrifyingly invisible wounds.

Matthew Bean gave all he had with nobility of purpose, as he understood that to be, and sacrificed his life for it. Mathew Bean is the quintessence of the Americans we honor on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day should also be a reminder for every American to speak out against a government and others who would hoodwink Americans, particularly our young people, into thinking that a Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan serve some nobility of purpose, as when I was a young man, never again.

Iraq is not worth the life of a Matthew Bean. We should not just perceive Matthew as a young man who so happened to have lost his life — nonchalantly saying, that’s the way it is, after all, lives are lost in war — without profoundly understanding what we, Matthew’s and other families have lost in our communities and country as a result of their deaths. Think of the lost contribution that Matthew, other fallen veterans, and those who have suffered unrecoverable wounds, could have made to make this country a better country. Our actions in Iraq or Afghanistan will not make us a better country. It is all about what could have been if only America had chosen a different course of action. Matthew’s grave is a symbolic reminder, a metaphor for what is the reality of Memorial Day.

Let all of us work hard to ensure that future Memorial Days will be celebrated in honoring fallen Americans from our increasingly distant past, but not of those in our time.

 

 

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