Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day 2013

[MB: It is always difficult to raise these issues in the midst of patriotic holidays, but it seems to me if people truly want to honor those that have served and are serving in the military then they should be fighting to stop the insanity of endless global warfare. I believe it is simplistic and simple-minded to have a holiday for soldiers without remembering "all" of the people that have lost their lives, had their communities left devastated, and are continuing to suffer because of historical and ongoing wars/conflicts.

I am not anti-soldier, I am pro-humanity. I believe the best solidarity I can show toward all soldiers is to join with veterans that are fighting to end the current wars. Support the soldiers, bring them home.

It makes me sick to see the blind patriotism that says soldiers simply serving in the military are heroic. That is patently absurd and insulting to all soldiers. I resist this labeling for any group of people because it is a 'stereotype" used to manipulate people (those serving as soldiers and those on the home front). No one is simply heroic because they have joined something or stand for something -- we must resist this notion.]

Democracy Now Memorial Day Special: U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit

Kathy Kelly: Tales of War in a Kabul Restaurant

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