Bionic Mosquito via Blacklisted News
Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered.
This weekend and continuing through Monday Americans will witness countless varied acts of praise for those who have died in America’s wars. Ball games, parades, pancake breakfasts, even Sunday church service (Laurence Vance, be on alert) – one or more of these will offer opportunities for just about any patriotic American looking for an opportunity to worship.
Apparently, about 1.3 million Americans died in the wars since 1775 (not counting suicides, apparently one every 65 seconds since 1999). It is worth considering: for what did they die? Was any of it worth it?
(Note: I will not, in this post, examine the costs and devastation for those victims of American military aggression, more by orders of magnitude – Memorial Day does not recognize those who died on the other side….For the most part, apparently, Americans don’t care. There is no American holiday for you!)
Revolutionary War
I will spend the most digits on this war, as even the most principled anti-war critic might consider it an appropriate war.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the successful military rebellion against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies…
Certainly, if there was one war worthwhile in the history of the United States, it would have to be this one. Who on earth could possibly disagree (well, besides King George)?
“Hey, back here…I have a question: Whose independence was won?”
It seems fair to ask if the war was worth it. What if the war wasn’t fought? What was this “independence”? “Independence” for whom? Was life for the average American different than life for the average Brit twenty years after the war? One hundred years? Two hundred years? Was life for the average American different after the war than it might have been had this war not been fought at all, if the colonies remained part of the empire? What of the path of Canada or Australia? Did the American Revolutionary War result in a vastly different life for the average American than it did for the average Canadian or Australian?
I don’t recall reading about a Canadian war for independence. Let’s check:
Read more
Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered.
This weekend and continuing through Monday Americans will witness countless varied acts of praise for those who have died in America’s wars. Ball games, parades, pancake breakfasts, even Sunday church service (Laurence Vance, be on alert) – one or more of these will offer opportunities for just about any patriotic American looking for an opportunity to worship.
Apparently, about 1.3 million Americans died in the wars since 1775 (not counting suicides, apparently one every 65 seconds since 1999). It is worth considering: for what did they die? Was any of it worth it?
(Note: I will not, in this post, examine the costs and devastation for those victims of American military aggression, more by orders of magnitude – Memorial Day does not recognize those who died on the other side….For the most part, apparently, Americans don’t care. There is no American holiday for you!)
Revolutionary War
I will spend the most digits on this war, as even the most principled anti-war critic might consider it an appropriate war.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the successful military rebellion against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies…
Certainly, if there was one war worthwhile in the history of the United States, it would have to be this one. Who on earth could possibly disagree (well, besides King George)?
“Hey, back here…I have a question: Whose independence was won?”
It seems fair to ask if the war was worth it. What if the war wasn’t fought? What was this “independence”? “Independence” for whom? Was life for the average American different than life for the average Brit twenty years after the war? One hundred years? Two hundred years? Was life for the average American different after the war than it might have been had this war not been fought at all, if the colonies remained part of the empire? What of the path of Canada or Australia? Did the American Revolutionary War result in a vastly different life for the average American than it did for the average Canadian or Australian?
I don’t recall reading about a Canadian war for independence. Let’s check:
Read more
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