RE: 60 Years Later, The US Admits to An Unconstitutional War With Iran
This makes me think of a post that a friend of mine made the other day on Facebook, he basically said that if people want to call him unpatriotic for opposing our countries wars then so be it. If they want to lock him up or strip him from his citizenship then he is fine with that because there is simply nothing that will make him close his eyes, ears and heart to the atrocities that our country is committing in the name of spreading "democracy", "liberty" or it's favorite lately which is humanitarian intervention. His message was amplified due to the fact that he was a young veteran as well. A young guy who at one point thought he was doing the right thing by joining the the armed forces only to realize (before it was too late) that he had been lied to, brainwashed, and indoctrinated into believing that we were actually making these third world countries somehow better by invading them. When he realized the truth and that these wars were based on lies, he could no longer blindly follow, respect, or appreciate the armed forces in the same way ever again. On his page his post got a few likes, but when I shared it.. it got a lot more attention and made others who felt this way want to speak up and those that came from countries that have been pulverized by the USA feel like the people aren't the bad guys it's mainly their government and the greedy politicians that they should be upset with. I added a picture to his post that had what looked like an American flag with a dove and the words Peace is Patriotic.. and I felt that summed up his message pretty well.
So many great Americans through our short history have been non-interventionist. It is steeped in American tradition and for more than 100 years a non-intervention manifesto was revered as essential reading for all Americans: George Washington's Farewell Address.
I've known people like your friend myself. Military veterans who have seen firsthand the cost of war and seen through the fake justifications. Sometimes I think that if America had compulsory military service it would be a good thing if only that it may make us more aware of the cost of war and more reticent to pay it.