With the passing of my late Dad’s 99th birthday, I want to pay tribute to warrior’s past and present. They all gave much and got very little in return. Dad was a true war hero, but he decried World War II as “Roosevelt’s war.”
It is to this topic which Mark Twain wrote one of his more dramatic and moving essays, entitled “The War Prayer.” He was one of America’s most notable authors of the 19th century. He was, in my opinion, very politically astute, as well as being “in tune” with the changing culture (industrialization and globalization) of his day.
The following is a section from that essay (published sometime after Twain’s death in April 1910):
"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.”
The above section, (and the entire essay which is a satire by Twain), describes the psychology of “continual war,” and became increasingly important in America’s foreign policy starting with World War I and continuing to this day. It certainly marks the latter part of my life in a country, and world, which is so different from the one that I grew up in. Both Dad’s life and my life have been changed radically by these increasing policies of “continual war”.
Many of the proponents (typically right wing, conservative neocons) of “continuous war” seem to take their ideas from the World War I concept of “making the world safe for democracy.” It’s as if “American democracy” is a form of government so “enlightened” that we (America and its allies) need to force it on other countries even if we have to destroy those countries and kill their citizens to make it happen. Witness, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine and Vietnam as examples. During my lifetime, I watched as it took Vietnam 30 years to recover from “America’s war of liberation.” I am delighted to see that country finally flourishing and prospering in the global economy despite the destruction inflicted during 15+ years of war.
However, there is, in my opinion, a more sinister motive (if not several) to all of this. Once destroyed, a country can be rebuilt, which can be highly profitable, if you have the resources and money to do so. America learned this lesson very well after World War II. It is what propelled this country into a global economic powerhouse.
It can be argued that the rise of America as a leading industrial and economic power was indeed a blessing. However, the following Mark Twain quote seems to be very applicable to America’s foreign policy since the end of World War II, and in particular, since “9/11.”
“If you beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time.”
- "The War Prayer" - http://www.twainquotes.com/Prayer.html
As to the group perpetuating this policy of “continuous war,” I blame the current controllers of more than 50% of the wealth, power and resources in our global society, which I term “the 1%.” While this term may not actually reflect all of that class of people (it may be more like the top .1% of people globally), it is, in my opinion, a reasonable descriptive term to use.
It is no wonder that the political and private elite (1%) are at wits end during this 2016 political season. They clearly want to continue and expand this state of “continual war.” Clearly, “continual war” profits a few, in particular the top 1% as well as the largest global mega-corporations.
A general officer by the name of Smedley Butler knew in the 1930’s what Dad learned a few years later. A quote from Major General Smedley Butler’s essay (War is a Racket) comes to mind.
“A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.”
As a tribute to my Dad, the war hero, I hope and pray that during the lifetime of my son and daughter, and my two granddaughters that a global reign of “continual peace” breaks out. We have been fighting “Roosevelt’s War” far too long.
Sincerely,
H. Court Young
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