by Mike Marion
When I used to believe that the U.S. could and should intervene in other countries, I never even stopped to consider it from the perspective of the millions of normal people living there.
I mean, can you imagine if some government invaded our country tomorrow with tanks and bombs and guns, killed any Americans who resisted the attack, demolished our infrastructure, and then installed its own handpicked politicians to rule us? Or how about if that government daily patrolled our skies with drones, blowing up a Starbucks, a local church, office buildings and homes, maybe even a section of Disneyland looking for people who that government claimed were bad guys in its "War on Terror", even though most of the victims were just our family, friends and neighbors who had done nothing but be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
How terrifying would that be? We’d still have to go to work, and go to the market, and visit family and friends, but the fear of a brutal, violent death would be constantly on our minds, and we'd know there was absolutely nothing we could do about it but hope and pray.
I realized I just had no empathy for people in other countries — or rather, that any natural empathy I had was quickly overpowered by nationalism. Sure, I donated to causes for disaster relief and for starving kids in Africa, and I went on some church mission trips to poverty stricken areas in Mexico. But I also supported my government going into other poor countries and literally destroying them for its own political purposes (maybe I didn't think of it in those terms, but that's what actually happened).
When these politicians — who I otherwise knew were constantly lying, and screwing things up, and looking out for their own power and special interests — said a certain country was a danger to my safety, or whatever other excuse, I believed them! I rooted for "our team”. I was glad the government was keeping me safe, and the death and destruction and terror it brought to countless people just like me didn’t even cross my mind.
Anyway, it’s mind-boggling when I think of it this way. How on earth does the State convince us to betray our instincts, our morals and values, and our consciences when it shouts something like “terror!” or “national security!” and rallies us to the flag? An entity that can do this to a society is much scarier to me than a small network of poor militants thousands of miles away who are primarily motivated to attack the U.S. in the first place because of what it does in their countries.
You know what I mean?
When I used to believe that the U.S. could and should intervene in other countries, I never even stopped to consider it from the perspective of the millions of normal people living there.
I mean, can you imagine if some government invaded our country tomorrow with tanks and bombs and guns, killed any Americans who resisted the attack, demolished our infrastructure, and then installed its own handpicked politicians to rule us? Or how about if that government daily patrolled our skies with drones, blowing up a Starbucks, a local church, office buildings and homes, maybe even a section of Disneyland looking for people who that government claimed were bad guys in its "War on Terror", even though most of the victims were just our family, friends and neighbors who had done nothing but be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
How terrifying would that be? We’d still have to go to work, and go to the market, and visit family and friends, but the fear of a brutal, violent death would be constantly on our minds, and we'd know there was absolutely nothing we could do about it but hope and pray.
I realized I just had no empathy for people in other countries — or rather, that any natural empathy I had was quickly overpowered by nationalism. Sure, I donated to causes for disaster relief and for starving kids in Africa, and I went on some church mission trips to poverty stricken areas in Mexico. But I also supported my government going into other poor countries and literally destroying them for its own political purposes (maybe I didn't think of it in those terms, but that's what actually happened).
When these politicians — who I otherwise knew were constantly lying, and screwing things up, and looking out for their own power and special interests — said a certain country was a danger to my safety, or whatever other excuse, I believed them! I rooted for "our team”. I was glad the government was keeping me safe, and the death and destruction and terror it brought to countless people just like me didn’t even cross my mind.
Anyway, it’s mind-boggling when I think of it this way. How on earth does the State convince us to betray our instincts, our morals and values, and our consciences when it shouts something like “terror!” or “national security!” and rallies us to the flag? An entity that can do this to a society is much scarier to me than a small network of poor militants thousands of miles away who are primarily motivated to attack the U.S. in the first place because of what it does in their countries.
You know what I mean?
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