Dispatriotism

"DisPatriotism" and Support for the Troops

Camillo C. Bica

In times such as these, we hear endless talk of patriotism and of appreciation and support for the troops and for veterans. For too many, however, patriotism, appreciation, and support mean boldly displaying a “We Will Never Forget” bumper sticker or decorating trees with yellow ribbons, knee jerk reactions to an hysteria incited by war’s benefactors. With 2500 plus Americans and 50,000 plus Iraqi civilians dead, it is time (past time) to calm the frenzy and begin to think rationally about what is and what is not patriotism and support for the troops.

Is it reasonable to believe it patriotic and in the interest of the troops to support leaders and their policies that send them ill-prepared, ill equipped, and in inadequate numbers to fight a war that is unnecessary and ill-advised? A war that even President Bush admits is based upon mistakes and “faulty intelligence.” Second, is it truly in anyone’s interest - - the troops, the country, or the Iraqis - - to persevere, that is, to “stay the course” of tactical and strategic incompetence characterized by misadventures like Abu Graib, Guantanamo, Fallujah, and Haditha? A course that has allowed the situation in Iraq to degenerate into civil war, increase hatred and righteous indignation against the United States, and provide a recruiting bonanza and training ground for terrorists. Third, do we truly appreciate the sacrifices of our troops and veterans by remaining silent when our leaders use members of the military as political props to bolster plummeting approval ratings and revitalize dwindling support for the war, while inadequately providing for their medical, psychological, and emotional needs as they return from war bleeding, scarred, and broken?

Patriotism has its place, as long as it is tempered with reason. However, when patriotism is misrepresented and becomes a tool of manipulation and compliance that demands blind obedience and unquestioning allegiance, such “dispatriotism” is inconsistent with democracy and an abeyance of our human reason. Such “dispatriotism” is to surrender our power to think critically and a profound failure, both intellectually and morally. Finally, such “dispatriotism” is inhumane and immoral.

Tragically, as the Vietnam experience made clear, once the frenzy of war abates, shallow feelings of patriotism soon degenerate to apathy and indifference. The rhetoric aside, whether by their action or their indifference, in truth, too many regard members of the military as expendable tools of war, cannon fodder, and veterans as nuisances, frauds, malingerers, burdens on the economy, and as an uncomfortable indictment of a collective responsibility for an ill-conceived foreign policy most would rather forget. The fact that so many of our heroic sons and daughters are languishing abandoned, their emotional and psychological injuries untreated, their needs ignored, is a national tragedy and disgrace.

These are truly troubling and dangerous times. The images of the destruction of the Twin Towers and the tragic and inexcusable deaths of so many innocent people are profoundly troubling and traumatic to us all. Over the long term, however, what threatens the very foundations and fabric of our way of life is not some amorphous, enigmatic horde of bloodthirsty terrorists. Rather, it is something much more profound, deleterious, and pervasive. It is the assault upon truth, individual freedom, and the values of justice and morality by those opportunists, obsessed and motivated by wealth and power, determined to forward their “Corporacratic” agenda.

To rationally support the troops entails doing what is truly in their physical, psychological, emotional, and moral interest. That is, patriots who truly appreciate the sacrifices and value the lives and well-being of our men and women in the military must strive, through protest and dissent, to influence policy and bring pressure to bear upon our leaders to end immediately what has clearly proven to be an ineffective and self-defeating policy of violence, death, and destruction. We must bring the troops home now. Second, we must make every effort to expose the war’s immorality and illegality - - that a war based upon mistakes and faulty intelligence is aggression - - and remind the troops that, at least since Nuremberg, their moral and legal obligations as soldiers require neither blind obedience nor unquestioning trust in the decisions of their leaders. Third, we must strive to create an environment in which young adolescents/adults feel empowered to act upon their moral convictions and refuse to fight. Fourth, moral refusers and deserters must be supported and provided protection either through selective conscientious objector laws, legal defense funds, or, more drastically, by providing sanctuaries from military apprehension and prosecution. Finally, we must ensure that the troops receive the necessary care and treatment for the physical, psychological, emotional, and moral injuries that are the inevitable consequences of their experiences in war, especially an immoral war.

The fact that we have become isolated in the world, respected no longer for our ideals, but feared for our brutality, no longer admired for our values of justice and freedom, but hated for our hypocrisy and intolerance, should bring a tear to the eye and anger to the heart of anyone who truly loves America. Such outrage requires, no demands, the real patriot to embrace truth and take to the streets and cry out in condemnation and protest against this corrupting and disgracing of America by those political leaders and their coconspirators who cherish not our values and way of life but only wealth and power.