As the war drums beat in demand for yet another US military involvement in the middle east, I can’t help but think we’ve heard this all before. As our warplanes and drones drop bombs in Syria, I’m reminded of past jingoism and loud declarations. As the best and brightest argue over how to implement this latest bit of militarism in the Middle East, I flash back to previous arguments and debates.
Not the “we have to protect ourselves and save the world from the latest version of people who hate us and do bad things,” although this certainly is awash in that sentiment. Those with militaristic mind sets are no different than anyone else who’s committed to a cause – they see reason for force projection under every rock, they see any action that’s hostile to America as a proximate threat to America, and they respond to any form of instigation with “lets bomb those suckers!”
No, what actually came to mind with this demand for action against ISIS, ISIL or whatever the nom du jour is was how much its advocates sound like those who continually advocate for socialism or communism. If you point out past failures, responses include “it wasn’t done right before,” “the alternative is worse,” “our guy will get it right,” and similar excuses. Never do we hear “we got it wrong in the past, time and again, so maybe we should take a step back and think about whether we should be doing it at all.”
Philosopher George Santayana wrote:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
While we do remember the past, both with respect to middle-east militarism and to socialism/communism/statism, it seems that we work far harder at excusing the failures and dismissing the lessons of the past, just so that we can repeat it, than actually trying to learn those lessons and accepting the possibility that we were wrong then.
As I write this, it’s obvious that both parties are banging that war drum. The Republicans are hitting it hard, seeing an opportunity to portray the Dems as weak leading up to the mid-term elections. The Dems are banging it, fearing that the Republicans will portray them as weak. The administration is doing as it always has, taking half-way measures that no one likes but that gives everyone a chance to say they agree partially, while casting about for places to lay blame.
The only sounds of opposition come from parts of the far-left (at least those parts that have been able to get over their blind Obama worship) and from the libertarians. I tip my hat to the former for having the guts to stand on principle despite the group-think mentality they live by. As for libertarians, we’re used to being ignored, dismissed and told to go stand in the corner. However, if this action goes poorly (as history strongly suggests it will) or not-as-intended, don’t be angry at us if we declare “we told you so.”
Meanwhile, do consider the odd parallel between the militarists and the socialists. There’s plenty with which to argue against them, but those arguments have to punch through a pretty thick wall.
Loading ...
Active Comment Threads
Most Commented Posts
Universal Background Checks – A Back Door to Universal Registration
COVID Mask Follies
When Everything Is Illegal…
An Anti-Vax Inflection Point?
“Not In My Name”
The Great Social Media Crackup
War Comes Through The Overton Window
The First Rule of Italian Driving
Most Active Commenters