Memorial Day has come and gone and good riddance to all the patriotic banalities associated with it.
It smacks even more using the day to extol our military rather than be a solemn occasion to honor those who have fallen in our wars.
Throughout major league baseball on Memorial Day all teams players wore camouflage caps. Camouflage lettering was on their uniforms and now these caps and uniforms are to be sold at auction and saved as souvenirs. How's that for solemnity?
Thankfully-for a while at least-we won't have to hear announcers extolling those serving "defending our freedom".
It's appalling to hear such untruths. They're not defending our freedom. They're the lethal end of our illegal wars and occupations, dying unnecessarily, killing innocents and far from bringing "freedom and democracy" are sowing the seeds to breed survivors vowing revenge against America; an America responsible for slaughtering their loved ones in drone attacks and missile strikes.
Memorial Day as its now conducted is a fraud because of the propaganda it sells. We don't see and hear the truth of what our militarism is doing all over the world. That wouldn't fit with the spit shine image of a marine in uniform plastered on TV screens.
People need to read the truth of our militarism and none better than that from former Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler who wrote, "War is a Racket" written in 1935 where he "described and criticized the workings of the United States in its foreign actions and wars...including the American corporations and other imperialist motivations behind them." [1]
Here is the most decorated Marine, two time "Medal of Honor" winner describing the truth behind America's wars and those who benefit from them-which still holds for our present day.
Today there are no Smedley Butler's. Now we have the likes of a General David Petraeus or a Stanley McChrystal. The latter part of the cover up of Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan and the former cited for giving classified information to his mistress while he was Director of the CIA.
Though both tarnish the image of the military their fall from grace doesn't affect the propaganda image Americans are constantly subjected to of our military being "a force for good".
So each Memorial Day the indoctrination-brainwashing?- of Americans is reinforced as we dutifully stand for the likes of the "Star Spangled Banner", "America the Beautiful", "God Bless America", "This Land is Your Land" et al at ballgames and other public gatherings.
From all indications the indoctrination has been a complete "success".
[1] "Smedley Butler", Wikipedia