Heroes, or Villians?

Here in America politicians, news reporters and televisions anchors and other influencial sources always make anything the U.S. does to affect other countries out to be a heroic deed. I cannot think of a time when this was any different. And I hope that Iraqi's like Riverbend understand this as a partial explanation for why some Americans feel righteous about sending the kind of messages that she's received. They truly believe that our troops are always sent out to do what is right and that they never do wrong. In their minds, every member of the U.S. military is perfect whenever they're involved in war.

Perhaps, the youth of a nation is reflected in the maturity level of most of its citizens. Maybe, that helps to explain why so many Americans act like children cheering on the home team while chiding and insulting anyone that isn't for the same side (i.e., same team, or nation and forces). I don't know if people in other countries are familiar with television shows like Jerry Springer, but the obnoxiously twisted guests on those shows reflect America's social garbage, revealing the lowlife tendencies that even the more prominant sector of our society possesses, no matter how cleverly they hide them from the public.

Many of us are raised in environments where we compete to dominate the direction that conversations take in an "I talk, you passively listen" manner which usually results in arguments riddled with tough-talking threats, name-calling and other insulting expressions. American audiences laugh and cheer at the "Yo mama" jokes, enjoying the disrespectful rips people take on each other's mother. Americans love "us against them" entertainment, especially played on nationalistic and cultural themes. We see this in cartoons, movies and documentaries that raise Americans up as the world's heroes, while reducing the "other guys" to rogues, or supportive allies. Yes, even our international allies have been sent to the back as minor charactors that pass the heroic triumphs to the American bad asses.

Our covert operatives are depicted by Hollywood and publishers as cool, sexy and slick, their only rivals of covert coolness are those in Her Majesty's Service (British spies, like James Bond). Our officers and generals are hailed as wise gentlemen. They aren't depicted as ruthless old farts that serve the Pentagon's interest to punish troops for complaining and questioning the government's treatment of them and the government's reasons for putting each troop's life on the line with orders to kill. Nor are they seen for what many do: order troops to do things that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Our media offers heart-touching spotlights on soldiers injured and killed during wars and foreign occupations, which is thoughtful and good. However, our media usually ignores the victims on the other side, especially civilians. Our media refuses to show us how foreign civilians are treated by our troops during a war, except when our troops do good deeds. So, most Americans don't know the side of the story where a fraction of our troops have been brutal, disrespectful, uncaring, and unethical in various ways. (And don't get me started on the number of babies fathered by American men that have left behind disgraced young women and often unwanted mixed children, like what happened in Vietnam during the 60's and 70's.)

It's difficult for Americans to understand why Iraqis or people of any other country have any reason to complain when our media and lawmakers repeatedly tell Americans that our troops are on missions intended to bring justice, help in humanitarian ways, establish freedom and democracy. Such are the claims Americans want to hear. Hell, even our troops hear these things and they like it that way. We're raised to believe that this is what America's global role is. We're raised to believe that America only wants to help, not hinder, harm, destroy or exploit. We're taught these things in school, in many religious institutions, at home and even at work. We are raised to believe that we are the good guys fighting evil in the world, often to defend our international neighbors from the Hitler types that are said to hate everything America is and promotes - human rights, freedom and democracy.

When an entire nation is programmed this way, it's difficult to deprogram the majority of the country's population. This conditioning is part of American tradition. It's so deeply ingrained in our culture that anything revealing the darker side of the story is treated with suspicion and anger, as if the unpopular truths are anti-American propaganda spun by communists and others said to hate freedom, democracy and human rights.

And we are raised to love our country (That's patriotism!) and to be proud Americans. Our constitutional rights are limited by restrictions and prohibitions that have rapidly multiplied over time, outnumbering the comparably few removed without much notice from most Americans. But we're often reminded of these rights, especially during times of division in America and when America is at war. With every war, we're told that our military people are fighting for our freedom and protecting our home and democracy, even when these claims have nothing to do with the reasons politicians send our troops to war. We are told these things because they are manipulative tactics intended to insure our support of every war and to regard our troops as heroes.

Every troop knows whether, or not he/she has done heroic deeds. We Americans won't know which ones did what. We won't know which ones did their best to spare the lives of innocent people and which ones didn't care who they killed, or why. We won't know which ones mistreated ordinary folks that just happened to live in a war zone, or invaded country, or which American troops showed mercy on them.

We won't know which U.S. soldiers stole precious few treasures from modest Iraqi homes and which ones were above such lowly acts. Regardless, most Americans will treat all of these troops like heroes, because the average American has been conditioned to do this.

And the Americans that treat all of the soldiers like war heroes will continue to sneer at Iraqis and accuse them of lacking gratitude for the freedom and democracy that Americans are duped into believing is the reason why our troops occupy and police Iraq today. No truths, not even questions and evidence will enlighten and change most American minds. Therefore, most Americans will neglect to do the honorable thing - demand that America's presence and influence in Iraq and other countries be as we're told it is and no less.