Memorial Day
Memorial day weekend, when everyone takes off a day from work and celebrates the beginning of Summer. Supposedly it is to recall those men and women who died in our country's wars, but that is seldom actually done as far as I can see. There are token news blips about it and some stories in the papers but for the most part it is the first big summer holiday.
Most of the news stories we will hear about Memorial Day's "true meaning" will dwell on the words "sacrifice" and "freedom". The idea will almost always be that these thousands of men and women who have died in America's far too numerous wars died in a willing sacrifice to guarantee our freedoms. Of course that is utter nonsense. First of all a significant proportion of those who have died were members of a slave army, that is after all what a draft army really is.
Worse, those wars that America has fought over the last 200 years have been either wars of conquest and therefore evil, or the result of previous wars that should not have been fought. The biggest disaster in these terms was the intervention of America in WWI, which resulted in WWII, the holocaust and 3/4 of a century of communist domination of eastern Europe. IMO.
The Revolutionary War, by today's terms the government of George III was less oppressive than today's American government, less intrusive and with lower taxes, maybe that war could have been skipped then.
The War of 1812, unsuccessful war to conquer Canada, not a good war at all.
The Mexican American War, blatant war of conquest where we stole California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico along with other states. Not a "good war."
The Civil War, a war to "preserve the Union" at the cost of the republic. Not a good war.
The genocidal wars against the Native Population, obviously not good.
The Spanish American War, conquest again, followed by the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who didn't want to be an American Colony. Bad war.
World War One, none of our business and not at all a "war to make democracy safe."
World War Two, a direct result of our interference in WWI!
All of the illegal undeclared wars since then? Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo etc. Pointless wastes all.
So, on Memorial Day, I recall the thousands of enslaved victims of empire (draftees) who have died to enrich the elite rulers of the American Empire, and I weep for their wasted deaths.