Co-Opting MLK Into the War System

So, what else is new? Everything the state touches – or even alludes to – is used to glorify the war system in some way. Memorial Day – originally set aside to remember those killed in wars – is now routinely used (e.g., in television films) to celebrate the system that created the many corpses. July 4th – which used to be called Independence Day (suggestive – gasp! – of the libertarian separation of individual and state) now features an endless supply of films glorifying statism (see, e.g., the awful Bing Crosby movie “Holiday Inn”). The Armistice Day of my youth – celebrating the end of World War I – was long ago morphed into “Veterans Day,” with – you guessed it – yet another marathon of John Wayne war films, as he bravely defended the back lot of Republic Pictures. Nor can I forget the Christmas house decorations I have seen decked out in red, white, and blue, or the Christmas cards showing Santa Claus wrapped in a U.S. flag. And when the likes of Henry Kissinger can be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, you know that the war system is going to exploit every human sentiment to serve its ends.

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5:39 pm on April 3, 2008