The column “Militarism overwhelms American culture,” by Rob Rossmeissl and published in the Badger Herald, argues that American culture embraces and trivializes war, almost making fun of the carnage it inflicts on so many lives. The column’s main points are the recent quotes by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, U.S. Marine Corps, saying, “War is a hell of a hoot. I’ll be right there with you, I like brawling.” Rossmeissl also backed up his argument saying the media throws war in people’s, especially kids’, faces, corrupting America’s youth and culture through CNN coverage and video games.
The idea that America is militarized and trivializes war is faulty. First, let’s discuss the case of Lt. Gen. Mattis. While I may not agree with Lt. Gen. Mattis’ statement, he has served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom in Southern Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has shown over and over that he holds the military values high and was simply mistaken.
In another speech he gave to his soldiers before leaving for Iraq in 2003, he stated, “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon … Carry out your mission and keep your honor clean. Demonstrate to the world that there is no greater friend and no worse enemy than a United States Marine.” He has done more for this country and our Marine Corps (he is currently the Commanding General for Combat Development, Quantico, Va.,) than most people will in their lives. His recent comments not withstanding, he has successfully led hundreds of soldiers into combat on many different occasions and has proven repeatedly that not only does he care for his soldiers’ lives, but also those of the people in the country he was fighting in.
My larger point here is not to defend Lt. Gen. Mattis, but to point out that Rossmeissl’s article conflates war and the military. As for the other arguments in this article, “Growing up in a military culture where becoming a soldier is among the most honorable things you can do, kids learn to embrace war.”
But what kid, regardless of what country they are from, does not look at a person in uniform with awe? It’s not because of the fact that that person may have killed someone. It’s because the military trains you to stand with a certain amount of pride and with a certain bearing. The military represents something as old and honorable as our country. The first people to serve in this country’s military were people like you and me. They were citizen soldiers fighting for their independence without uniforms or the same weapons. The military can represent national pride; pride for incredible things accomplished over the years. And that’s what kids recognize and respect. Not gore.
As for the media — of course the media will cover the war, and kids will see it, but I would think that it would be better for that kid to be mildly educated (depending on age of course, the older they get the more educated they should be) as to what is going on in the world. Parents can always spare details.
What the media leaves out at this point in time is all the positive things that are happening in Iraq. Rob Rossmeissl focuses on the countdown to the invasion in Iraq, saying that the media acted as a cheerleader for the war. A cheerleader wouldn’t be such a bad thing now. The media has failed to cover the fact that school attendance is up 80 percent since before the war. More than 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of their weapons caches so they can be properly utilized. The country now receives two times the electrical power it did before the war and 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever. Whether or not we should be in Iraq seems not so black and white anymore.
Think back to when you were a kid. Tell me you never played a video game where you shot someone or beat someone up. Tell me you never played a game outside where someone was good and someone was bad. Are you honestly trying to tell me that because a kid goes out and plays cops and robbers, they are embracing war? It’s a natural thing for kids to do. As for video games, the games the military releases are PG-rated recruiting materials.
In the recent game “America’s Army,” you go through the necessary training before getting into combat, and even then there are more tactical operations than blood. Video-game corporations should hold the blame for the desensitization most video games cause and the carnage they carry. Take “Grand Theft Auto,” for example. It’s a game where you are able to beat up hookers and kill people in ways that especially the military does not condone. I think our culture as a whole is more violent than the military.
I can honestly tell you that the people who embrace war the least are the ones who have experienced it. A little more than a decade ago my mother was deployed to a war zone. Every couple of days I didn’t get a letter from her, I was scared as only a 7-year-old could be that Somalis had shot her.
So, yes, Rob Rossmeissl, I think you are grossly underestimating our country, both its youth and adults. Although we may like war games, it does not by any means mean that we enjoy hearing that another soldier was killed overseas, or that we think “war is a hell of a hoot.”
Erica Moeller ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in history and criminal justice.
