"I don’t “support the troops” or any of those other hollow and hypocritical platitudes uttered by Republicans and frightened Democrats. Here’s what I do support: I support them coming home. I support them being treated well. I support peace, and I beg any young person reading this who’s thinking of joining the armed forces to please reconsider. Our war department has done little to show you they won’t recklessly put your young life in harm’s way for a cause that has nothing to do with what you signed up for. They will not help you once they’ve used you and spit you back into society. If you’re a woman, they will not protect you from rapists in their ranks. And because you have a conscience and you know right from wrong, you do not want yourself being used to kill civilians in other countries who never did anything to hurt us. We are currently involved in at least a half-dozen military actions around the world. Don’t become the next statistic so that General Electric can post another record profit — while paying no taxes — taxes that otherwise would be paying for the artificial leg that they’ve kept you waiting for months to receive."

— Michael Moore

Tags: politics war

I’m so tired of soldiers being described as ‘war heroes’ or ‘heroes’

poetsblood:

War is not heroic, and I don’t respect you just because you went off to some distant land to enforce ‘democracy’ and Western ideas.

You kill for greedy capitalists, thats it.

What you say is completely true. HOWEVER, an understanding and kindness should transcend politics. These men (and some women), do you think they just decided one day “I’m going to enforce the capitalist agenda of environmental rape and exploitation?” No. By and large, they wanted to go to college. They come home, addled, with PTSD, unable to function like the rest of us. It takes drugs to make them function right. Poor souls. Whoops! It takes drugs to make me function right, too. And I never been to war! I’m sure it’s just me, all broken and shit. It couldn’t be the society I live in. It just couldn’t.

(Source: meow--zedong)

"Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die."

— Herbert Hoover

Tags: quote war

Soldiers before, during, and after just one year of war. Photos by Claire Felicie. It has gone on for more than a decade now with no end in sight. Next up, Iran?

Soldiers before, during, and after just one year of war. Photos by Claire Felicie. It has gone on for more than a decade now with no end in sight. Next up, Iran?

Tags: war

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion.” —founding father John Adams, stating the obvious.source: Amnesty International

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion.” —founding father John Adams, stating the obvious.

source: Amnesty International

"So I march with my fellow veterans, and my body hurts with the effort."

— Matthew Mellina (killingcharlemagne), from Cadence. Go read it.

Tags: war writing