By Howard Zinn
The Progressive
6-13-3


Those who died in this war did not die for their country.
They died for their government.
 
Our government has declared a military victory in Iraq. As a patriot, I will not celebrate. I will mourn the dead--the American GIs, and also the Iraqi dead, of whom there have been many, many more.
 
I will mourn the Iraqi children, not just those who are dead, but those who have been blinded, crippled, disfigured, or traumatized. We have not been given in the American media (we would need to read the foreign press) a full picture of the human suffering caused by our bombing.
 
We got precise figures for the American dead, but not for the Iraqis. Recall Colin Powell after the first Gulf War, when he reported the "small" number of U.S. dead, and when asked about the Iraqi dead, replied: "That is really not a matter I am terribly interested in."
 
As a patriot, contemplating the dead GIs, I could comfort myself (as, understandably, their families do) with the thought: "They died for their country." But I would be lying to myself.
 
Those who died in this war did not die for their country. They died for their government. They died for Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. And yes, they died for the greed of the oil cartels, for the expansion of the American empire, for the political ambitions of the President. They died to cover up the theft of the nation's wealth to pay for the machines of death.
 
The distinction between dying for your country and dying for your government is crucial in understanding what I believe to be the definition of patriotism in a democracy. According to the Declaration of Independence--the fundamental document of democracy--governments are artificial creations, established by the people, "deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," and charged by the people to ensure the equal right of all to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Furthermore, as the Declaration says, "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."
 
It is the country that is primary--the people, the ideals of the sanctity of human life and the promotion of liberty. When a government recklessly expends the lives of its young for crass motives of profit and power, always claiming that its motives are pure and moral ("Operation Just Cause" was the invasion of Panama and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in the present instance), it is violating its promise to the country. War is almost always a breaking of that promise. It does not enable the pursuit of happiness but brings despair and grief.
 
Mark Twain, having been called a "traitor" for criticizing the U.S. invasion of the Philippines, derided what he called "monarchical patriotism." He said: "The gospel of the monarchical patriotism is: 'The King can do no wrong.' We have adopted it with all its servility, with an unimportant change in the wording: 'Our country, right or wrong!' We have thrown away the most valuable asset we had--the individual's right to oppose both flag and country when he believed them to be in the wrong. We have thrown it away; and with it, all that was really respectable about that grotesque and laughable word, Patriotism."
 
If patriotism in the best sense (not in the monarchical sense) is loyalty to the principles of democracy, then who was the true patriot, Theodore Roosevelt, who applauded a massacre by American soldiers of 600 Filipino men, women, and children on a remote Philippine island, or Mark Twain, who denounced it?
 
With the war in Iraq won, shall we revel in American military power and--against the history of modern empires--insist that the American empire will be beneficent?
 
Our own history shows something different. It begins with what was called, in our high school history classes, "westward expansion"--a euphemism for the annihilation or expulsion of the Indian tribes inhabiting the continent, all in the name of "progress" and "civilization." It continues with the expansion of American power into the Caribbean at the turn of the century, then into the Philippines, and then repeated Marine invasions of Central America and long military occupations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
 
After World War II, Henry Luce, owner of Time, Life, and Fortune, spoke of "the American Century," in which this country would organize the world "as we see fit." Indeed, the expansion of American power continued, too often supporting military dictatorships in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, because they were friendly to American corporations and the American government.
 
The record does not justify confidence in Bush's boast that the United States will bring democracy to Iraq. Should Americans welcome the expansion of the nation's power, with the anger this has generated among so many people in the world? Should we welcome the huge growth of the military budget at the expense of health, education, the needs of children, one fifth of whom grow up in poverty?
 
I suggest that a patriotic American who cares for his or her country might act on behalf of a different vision. Instead of being feared for our military prowess, we should want to be respected for our dedication to human rights.
 
Should we not begin to redefine patriotism? We need to expand it beyond that narrow nationalism that has caused so much death and suffering. If national boundaries should not be obstacles to trade--some call it "globalization"--should they also not be obstacles to compassion and generosity?
 
Should we not begin to consider all children, everywhere, as our own? In that case, war, which in our time is always an assault on children, would be unacceptable as a solution to the problems of the world. Human ingenuity would have to search for other ways.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Howard Zinn, the author of "A People's History of the United States," is a columnist for The Progressive.

...have had their trust betrayed by a petty and venal DESERTER.


BUSH LIED, CHILDREN DIED. It really is that simple.

Are your trying to get a slogan going?

Are you going to be selling bumper stickers and T-shirts?

I know! You could get a bunch of your loser friends together and hijack the Goodyear Blimp in the name of Freedom and put "BUSH LIED, CHILDREN DIED" on the display!

Just not as catchy as "No blood for oil" or "Not in our name", though.

Work on it some more, and get back to me.

...don't start whining that I'm drawing attention away from the article, let me add:

Isn't it awfully arrogant of Howie to decide what the dead servicemen and -women died for?

Especially when he never served?

he's serving alright, a bit of horse shit garnished with
bravado resting in a sauce of stupidity and religious self
aggrandizement.

...chose not to serve more credible than that of a Deserter if that's what your asking.

The question also would be is does his argument hold together?

If someone puts on a uniform and their life is expended for any other purpose than defending the nation against attack then one could reasonably argue they were dying at the governments behest and for the government's purposes.

If, as in the case of the Conquest of Iraq, a War is sold and justified with knowing lies then one may even be dying in the service of a Private Agenda having no connection to the interests of the nation as a whole.

That the War on Iraq was sold with knowing lies is no longer arguable. Oh, you may well try to argue the point but if you do so you argue in defense of an evil action with a large and growing body of information refuting that position. Because the War was sold, and justified, with knowing lies for it's purpose one may reasonably infer that the real reason for the Iraq Attack was:

A. Not the reason given as a Public Rationale.

And

B. One that the average Citizen would not have supported.

So, you get a "twofer" - two lies for the price of one.

BUSH LIED, CHILDREN DIED. It really is that simple.

what an idiot.
H. Zinn served as a bombarder over Europe in WW2.
Ever heard of that one?

My father served in the Pacific.

What threw me is that he was talking like the usual peace wimp.

you were pontificating from ignorance.

Good thing I signed my post.

Otherwise people would have thought I was you.

Yes, the man (George Bush) lied and should be brought up on charges and when found guilty have the maximum penalty imposed.