War threatens all that is good

All of my adult life I have been a company man, only dimly aware of the extent to which institutional loyalties induce myopia. Asserting independence required first recognizing the extent to which I had been socialized to accept certain things as unimpeachable. Here then were the preliminary steps essential to making education accessible. Over a period of years, a considerable store of debris had piled up. Now, it all had to go. Belatedly, I learned that more often than not what passes for conventional wisdom is simply wrong. Adopting fashionable attitudes to demonstrate one’s trustworthiness – the world of politics is flush with such people hoping thereby to qualify for inclusion in some inner circle – is akin to engaging in prostitution in exchange for promissory notes. It is not only demeaning but downright foolhardy. (Andrew J. Bacevich, Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War)

As I read the above words with a sad realization: Bacevich, widely cited, has appeared in many respectable venues, in addition to less desirable places like The Nation and Democracy Now. Soon only the latter will be available to him. His words are a cry of angst that will move him to the margins of acceptable thought.

The book had a familiar feel and color to it, and so I dug out an old Noam Chomsky book that had the same texture, and sure enough, the same publisher: Metropolitan Books. How far you have fallen, Mr. Bacevich. How many turned you down?

You are toast, Mr. Bacevich. You might as well move to France.

Bacevich is writing above about his Eureka! decade – not a sudden realization, but a painful slow epiphany during which he realized that the Cold War was fought without a viable enemy. The Russians were never a threat to us. This led him to other realizations … that our permanent state of war has as much to do with military Keynesianism as any capitalist ideology; that our current aggressive wars are criminal endeavors, and that there was never a call or need for us to “lead” the rest of the world. But here is the worst: Military Keynesianism doesn’t work anymore, doesn’t give us the needed high. And cold turkey might kill us.

After World War II, and passage of the National Security Act of 1948, the Department of War became the Department of Defense. We’ve been at war ever since. The science/art of propaganda had been abandoned, but was resurrected to scare the population into supporting a permanent war machine. The Soviet Union (with China sideboard), was set up as an evil empire and used to justify every military endeavor we undertook. When they collapsed, we used the Microsoft Word “find/replace” command to insert the word “terrorism” everywhere that “Communism” appeared, and carried on as if nothing had changed.

Americans are scared now, so much so that there isn’t much left of our intellectual culture, which is why Bacevich will never be invited to another party in Georgetown. He doesn’t fit. His realization is counter-cultural. His books will not be reviewed in the Times and NY Review of Books. He will cease to exist.

Republicans recently came up with a new version of their 1994 “Contract with America,” called the “Pledge to America.” In it, they promise to cut spending and taxes and balance the budget … but not to touch military spending. They are sure the formula will work, as the idea that unnecessary military spending is necessary is sacrosanct. There is only one possible outcome: Cutbacks in social spending.

And that is the objective. The guns have won the propaganda battle, and butter is losing. All of our social programs, including Medicare and Social Security, are threatened now (as always), but with right wing Democrats in office, more so than ever before.

Here’s some wisdom from the margins: We are not at war with anyone, except by choice. We are safe. We are threatened by runaway population and environmental degradation. We can make our lives better by investing in health care, alternative energy, infrastructure, science and education.

Our war machine, our Pentagon, our military-industrial complex, threatens all of that.