Dying for a lie

07-27-2011 • http://www.libertyforall.net/

Today, to escape the hectic stress of life for a moment, I took a stroll through the cemetery in the town where I grew up. I saw lots of names I knew, but the main thing I noticed was how many American flags were adorning gravesites, and how many gravestones mentioned that the deceased had either died in combat or served in the military. If I were a good, loyal, patriotic American, the sight would have filled me with nationalistic pride, and thankfulness for the soldiers’ sacrifice. But it didn’t. It filled me with sadness. There is no greater love than that shown by someone who lays down his life for his friends. But there is no greater tragedy than someone laying down his life for a lie. And that is exactly what every soldier, of every country, who dies in battle, does.

I can already feel the outrage many will have at reading that. The last thing the flag-wavers, and especially the friends and families of fallen soldiers, want to consider is the possibility that, rather than being a great and noble sacrifice for the greater good– for freedom, security, peace, whatever–those who died in battle accomplished absolutely nothing worthwhile. Nothing. Those who parrot the phrase, “If you love your freedom, thank a veteran,” are deluding themselves. The goal of the U.S. military has never been freedom, for you or anyone else. It’s a gang that engages in turf wars with other gangs, and that’s all it has ever been.