— and not just in the increasingly warlike uniforms and weapons of local police, but even in our schools.
David Swanson has written about the various ways concerned activists are working to expose what’s happening and deprogram young, vulnerable children to their (and our) blind acquiescence to Empire’s constant need for war in order to sell more weapons to keep the deeply unsustainable predatory growth economy going . . .
How to Counter Recruitment and Demilitarize Schools
And don’t forget violent video games, to which especially young boys are seriously addicted.. Here’s an essay from 2004 addressing that subject.
Demilitarizing the Playground
Meanwhile, it turns out that the Super Bowl 50 was an even more blatant recruiting territory for militarism than I had anticipated.
The Might of the American Empire Was on Full Display at Superbowl 50: A Bizarre War Spectacle
Excerpts:
To much fanfare, the Armed Forces Chorus, comprised of 50 men and women from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force, kicked off the massive sports event by singing “America the Beautiful” from the field. CBS’ broadcast of the song cut away to footage of uniformed troops standing at attention, with text on the screen reading, “United States Forces Afghanistan.” The clip was a nod to a brutal war and occupation, now stretching into its 15th year, as top generals press for an even slower withdrawal.
…
Meanwhile, at the stadium and in surrounding communities, a real crackdown took place. The Super Bowl was determined by Homeland Security to be a “level one” security event, prompting a massive deployment of police and troops. Service members in uniform carried automatic rifles as they patrolled the stadium, and camouflaged Humvee vehicles with roof gun mounts were seen throughout the area.
According to SF Gate writer Al Saracevic, “At one point, near the media entrance to the event, a column of military personnel could be seen marching into the interior of the stadium security zone, boots clomping, weapons in hand.”
Let’s also take very very seriously Carol Rosin’s vision of working to shift the way the military views itself and and its purpose. I.e., rather than dismantle the military, change its focus, just like we do with kids when they fight. Stop fighting and start building together. Use our imaginations. Get creative. So many many ways to do this.
0 thoughts on “To counteract creeping militarism, we must first learn to see it — everywhere”
Thank you for writing this; for actually seeing militarism everywhere, and for encouraging the expulsion of it where ever we find it. I tried to speak to the topic this way: https://moreenigma.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/put-the-sword-back/
Yes, there is a strange cultural blindness to this insidious, spreading infection. Thanks for your post as well. I very much resonated with it.