Funferal

veterans

One amazing thing about experiencing ‘America at war’ from the inside is the ubiquity of the phrase ‘Support our Troops’. Pro-war demonstrators (and, yes, there are people who are unabashedly not just content, but happy with war) shout it – or perhaps spit it – at pro-peace demonstrators. The latter, in turn, respond with ‘support our troops, bring them home’, or similar sentiments. The US is very much a military country where the army is seen as the centre of the nation – the source of democracy, the epitomy of patriotism, what is to be most admired, and never questioned. While there is an argument for much of this, it is the last point – whereby the cult of the soldier is used to deflect any critical attention to the actions of individuals – be they deviant members or those who give the orders.
Given this situation, the cut in funding for disabled veterans has led to a lot of resentment, and is seen as an indication of the hypocrisy of those in power who try to raise the ‘support our troops’ mantra to deflect criticism.