Dulce et Decorum Est

It is Memorial Day in the United States, a day when Americans go out and put flowers on the graves of those who have died, a day when politicians and celebrities trot out that old lie of the soldiers who have died to "protect our freedoms". Of course, that is not true. There have only been two wars where "our freedoms" have in any way been at risk -- the American Revolution, and WWII when Japan and Germany declared war on us. All of this nation's other wars have been for other reasons -- to protect American markets, to enrich war profiteers, to steal territories from neighboring nations, to assist other nations perceived to be allies, for oil, or otherwise having nothing to do with defending America's freedoms. As far as protecting our freedoms in other ways, the U.S. Army protected the freedom of blacks to vote in the South during the time period 1867 to 1874, and protected the freedom of blacks to attend Little Rock High School and the University of Mississippi in 1957 and 1962, but otherwise have defended no other freedoms.

Why, then, do we go through this charade of dishonesty every single year? Perhaps the story of Jessica Ellis may hold a clue. In reality, Jessica Ann Ellis died because she was sent to war by a President who thinks that giving up golf is a sacrifice in order to further some intellectual masturbation about magic ponies on the part of neo-cons who still insist that Iraq + soldiers = democracy, or ponies, or oil coming out of everybody's assholes, whatever. But that is a hard and bitter lump to swallow. Thus the lie, the same old lie we always hear this time of year. The lie about the soldiers "defending our freedoms". The same old lies of valor, honor, and courage, time after time.

The lie will not bring back Jessica Ann Ellis, or the thousands of other Americans dead in Iraq. The lie will not make whole the 30,000+ Americans who have had limbs blown off, or resuscitate the dead brain cells of the 250,000 Americans who've had their heads hammered inside their helmets by explosions in Iraq, or bring back the 1,000,000 Iraqis who have died in the past five years who would be alive if not for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the lie gives comfort to those who would otherwise be outraged, angry, and heartbroken, and woe to he who would say truth in a land of lies. We cherish our lies, and hold them dear to our hearts here in the United States of Delusion. We cherish our lies, and woe to he who would puncture them under the harsh light of truth. They crucified Jesus, after all.

-- Badtux the Memorial Penguin