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June 28, 2012 Tomgram: Nan Levinson, Moral Injury and American War
[Note for TomDispatch Readers: With today’s post, TomDispatch is closing until July 5th. By the way,
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perfect a time as any! And it really does make a difference to us.
Similarly, as summer begins, those of you in a giving mood shouldn’t forget TomDispatch. You really do help keep us turning out something close to 150 well-edited, provocative, original posts a year with only the rare week off. For our small crew, that’s an undertaking, believe me. Check out our donation page by clicking here. Remember that, for contributions of $75 (or more), you can get personalized signed copies of our newest book, Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare: 2001-2050, or my book The United States of Fear. Or simply click on any TomDispatch book link, buy either of those books or anything else at Amazon and you’ve also made a contribution to us. We get a small percentage of your purchase price at no cost to you. Thanks again! See you in a week. Tom] “It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag.” That, at least, is how the federal government describes July 4th on its official website, USA.gov. “Independence Day,” it tells us, “honors the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.” As you may recall, however foggily, from grammar school social studies classes, that document struck a decidedly anti-military tone, castigating America’s then-ruler for having:
Today, of course, America’s rulers have saddled the country with a large standing army, created an exceptionally powerful military establishment largely divorced from civilian life, created secret laws and enforced abridgments of basic civil liberties while quartering among us, at military bases all over America, large bodies of troops. Given these developments, it’s hardly surprising that, over the years, the signing of this country’s foundational document as it was launching its anti-colonial War of Independence has somehow been wrapped in “warrior” values that go with the neo-colonial wars we have been fighting in distant lands. In fact, Independence Day has become prime-time for military recruiting. The Navy’s high-flying Blue Angels, for example, are taking their aerial acrobatics to the skies above Boston Harbor as part of this July 4th’s festivities. Meanwhile, the “Golden Knights,” the Army’s trick parachute team, will dramatically descend on celebrations in St. Louis. It’s military à go-go all day long. With so many martial myths afoot, the time seems ripe for a candid discussion of the troops we’re so often called upon to “support” on July 4th and every other day of the year. In her first piece for TomDispatch, journalist Nan Levinson examines the veterans of our post-9/11 wars, their “sacred wounds,” “moral injuries,” and just what America’s uniformed sons and daughters have experienced during the last decade of far-flung occupations. With new military interventions blossoming all the time, the subjects she raises ought to be at the forefront of American minds. If U.S. troops find themselves morally injured, shouldn’t we ask: Who put them in the position to suffer such wounds in the first place? Nick Turse Mad, Bad, Sad |
