Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Perpetual War Syndrome


The killing of Osama bin Laden, “a testament to the greatness of our country” according to President Obama, should not be allowed to obscure a central reality of our post-9/11 world. Our conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Libya remain instances of undeclared war, a fact that contributes to their remoteness from our American world. They are remote geographically, but also remote from our day-to-day interests and, unless you are in the military or have a loved one who serves, remote from our collective consciousness (not to speak of our consciences).

And this remoteness is no accident. Our wars and their impact are kept in remarkable isolation from what passes for public affairs in this country, leaving most Americans with little knowledge and even less say about whether they should be, and how they are, waged.
Do you think the American people have become more gullible in recent years? Or was it always like this?

How many people actually believed, for example, that the billionaire Osmam bin Laden was hiding in caves and moving from one to another to aviod capture? It was well said recently that the only billionaire who lives in a cave is Batman and that's only to get changed.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

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