[Peace-discuss] My letter in today's News-Gazette

[David Green]

Military made up of working class

U.S. wars rightly became domestically unpopular subsequent to World War II.
Since Vietnam (1962-75), the rebellion of soldiers and civilians against
that war, and the implementation of “voluntary”military service, affluent
Americans have overwhelmingly not encouraged their children to volunteer in
such a manner.

Accordingly, their children infrequently do so, except perhaps in more
privileged capacities referred to as “intelligence” services.

While there have always been social class divisions in relation to who
serves and how they serve, these have become more obvious during four
decades of radically increasing economic inequality.

The children of the top 10 percent compete in the upper reaches of the
class-rigged educational/ professional/ financial “meritocracy,” while
those of the economically precarious bottom 50 percent are “incentivized”
to serve as potential cannon fodder and global “cops on the beat.”

Our wars are mendaciously promoted by the political, corporate, media and
academicintelligentsia, with plenty of Ivy League credentials to go around.

War and constant threats of war are “geostrategically” necessary in
relation to the class interests of the 10 percent, who not coincidentally
own 80 percent of the stock market and whose portfolios are enhanced by
military expenditures — a kind of weaponized socialism for the rich.

The contradictions inherent in this situation necessitate an enormous
amount of propaganda to both counter and preemptively silence dissent.

Thus, the incessant and highly manipulative promotion of military veterans
as icons of patriotic service and sacrifice.

Nevertheless, these predominately working-class individuals serve only the
accumulative interests of the capitalist class and sacrifice only to the
latter’s benefit.

DAVID GREEN Champaign
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