. . . in Vietnam?” I’ve been asked this question several times by pro-war “veterans” who are offended by my opposition to all the state’s current, aggressive warmongering. The point they are trying to make is this: 55,000 Americans died in Vietnam, therefore, to avoid dishonoring them we should support all of the U.S. government’s wars, no questions asked.
Here’s the reality of what they are saying, in the form of a syllogism:
1. 55,000 Americans died in Vietnam.
2. Every last one of them died in vain, since no Americans were ever threatened with being forced to speak Vietnamese or become a communist. The war had nothing whatsoever to do with national “defense.”
3. Therefore, we should always support all of the state’s wars, forever and ever, in order to assure that hundreds of thousands of more Americans will also die in vain in future wars.
2:47 pm on March 28, 2015
