Saturday, May 24, 2008
Happy Revisionist History Day
Sheldon Richman
Revised and expanded from last year's "Memorial Day"
post.
Since, as Paddy Chayefsky has his main character say in his movie The
Americanization of Emily, " We...perpetuate war by exalting its
sacrifices" (see
this and
this), I've long thought that what is called Memorial Day would be
better recast as Revisionist History Day. The state inculcates an
unquestioning faith in its war-making by associating it with patriotism,
heroism, and the defense of "our freedoms." This strategy
builds in its own defense against any criticism of the government's
policies. Anyone who questions the morality of a war is automatically
suspected of being unpatriotic, unappreciative of the bravery that has
"kept us free," and disrespectful of "our troops," in
a word, un-American.
But in fact the forces aren't "serving their country" or
"keeping us free." They are doing the bidding of hack
politicians, well-connected economic interests, and court intellectuals
who are striving to achieve personal ambition, wealth, and historical
legacies.
The secular religion we call nationalism, which keeps the wool over most
people's eyes, can be seen clearly in the criticism of Barack Obama for
not wearing a flag lapel pin and his wife for saying she's not been proud
of her country until now. What is this thing, "country," that
we're expected to love and be proud of? It's never defined. But a big
part of it is obviously the state and its war record. This is supposedly
something to be proud of -- and if you're not, something is wrong with
you.
To counter this common outlook, which people are indoctrinated in from
birth, we should do what we can to teach others that the government's
version of its wars is always self-serving and threatening to life,
liberty, and decency. A good way to spend part of the day would be to
pick a war and read a high-quality revisionist account of it. Here are
some books (in no particular order) you might use as a guide:
Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War, by Paul
Fussell
Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil
War, by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, by William Appleman Williams
The Civilian and the Military: A History of the American Antimilitarist
Tradition, by Arthur Ekirch
The Politics of War: The Story of Two Wars which Altered Forever the
Political Life of the American Republic, 1890-1920, by Walter Karp
The Costs of War, edited by John Denson
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, by
Stephen Kinzer
All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror,
by Stephen Kinzer
Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, by Chalmers
Johnson
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic,
by Chalmers Johnson
War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation
of the Modern Middle East, by David Fromkin
The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East,
by David Hirst
A good place to start is
this
article by Robert Higgs: "How U.S. Economic Warfare Provoked
Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbor" (The Freeman, May 2006).
Many other books and articles could be added to the list. The point is
this: if we are to prevent wars in the future, we must self-educate and
then, when opportune, teach others.
And spend part Revisionist History Day watching
The Americanization of Emily. It'll be worth your while.
http://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2008/05/happy-revisionist-history-day.html
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