The Supreme Court ruled this week that the U.S. Navy has the right to slaughter marine mammals in training exercises off the coast of California. Score one for the Empire. A setback for the progeny of Arne Naess and the Deep Ecology movement.
How sad.
The American Military remains the sacred cow of Empire. With the American economy in a tail-spin not seen since 1929, is there any discussion about closing down the (at least) 703 Foreign Military bases we have?
I think Chalmers Johnson got it right. The arms race and the creation of both the Soviet Empire and the American Empire exacted tolls on both the Soviet Union and the United States. They crumbled first. So will ours.
In the 1980s we used to talk about “Military Madness”. Then the anti-war movement got focused on raising kids, mortgages and SUV’s. Now the indoctrination continues with “God Bless America” replacing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch in the Major Leagues. And always it is sung by some handsome male or female soldier in their finest dress uniforms from some branch of the service. Subtle propaganda during our beloved pastime.
The military budget is bloated. Defense has become Offense. Offensive regarding American power projection across the globe. But also offensive to the environment. After all, how much fossil fuel is consumed by the military? The answer might surprise you.
Is there a better way? Must we remain in this paradigm of Empire forever? Even Obama admits that a strong military cannot be sustained without a strong economy. Since our economy is not sustainable, neither is our bloated military excesses.
Both will fall. It would fall quicker if a person could criticize the military without being accused of peeing on the American Altar. “Be Patriotic! Save a Whale!” should be our cry! Let’s hope we have a viable Whale and marine mammal population left off the coast of California when we finally do come to our senses.
ALLAN STELLAR lives in California. He can be reached through his website: Solarcompound.
