Photo by Flickr

Ah, Memorial Day. Bring on the tsunami of knee-jerk, flag-waving patriotism and the glorification of all things war. Great way to kick off the summer.

Wait — no, it’s not. Just stop.

There is nothing to be celebrated about endless war and imperialism. There is nothing noble about sending our citizens to murder innocent civilians in far-away lands to steal their natural resources. There is nothing heroic about dying for the greed of those who will never come within a hundred miles of the battlefield.

There is nothing to justify our obscenely bloated military budget which deprives the American people of necessities (like healthcare) that all other developed nations have taken for granted for decades.

Let’s not gild the lily here. Bottom line is, our young people joining the service are nothing more than hired guns brainwashed to serve the oligarchy’s needs. Cloak it with Old Glory all you want. The fact remains.

Try to find one country we are terrorizing that isn’t rich in oil reserves. You got fossil fuels? Looks like you need a heapin’ helpin’ of Amurican Freedum, loosely translated as killing brown kids until the MIC gets what it wants.

I mean, those defense contracts aren’t going to pay for themselves.

Never-ending war is the only way to keep funneling most of our cash to those who have grown criminally wealthy from exploiting our young service men and women.

Our military personnel is little more than indentured hitmen draped in the flag — a feeble attempt to glorify American aggression and oppression.

It’s bullshit, and it needs to stop.

Waste, waste, WASTE. Photo by USA Today

Most young people join the military because they see it as the only available path to better their situation. They are in it for the job training and G.I. bill. In too many cases, the lure of three hots and a cot is enough to get some people to sign years of their life away.

It’s better than the streets, right?

The military is the last resort of the poor and desperate, and that’s how they like it. Young people with no options guarantee a steady flow of recruits. Young people with viable, safe choices spells doom for the current system.

This is why the establishment of both major parties fight so hard to prevent our people from accessing free college or trade school. It’s why they poo-poo a federal jobs guarantee. Enlistment would slow to a trickle, and they know it.

We have to keep our young desperate and despondent to fuel the war machine.

So what can we do to change this? Support the policies that give our young people a future without being a pawn for Lockheed Martin. Fight to make healthcare, education, and livable-wage employment basic rights for every American citizen.

Stop glorifying the U.S. military. There’s nothing noble about global bullying.

And, for the love of sanity, stop joining the military. They need your warm, expendable bodies to keep their fat dividends rolling in. Refuse to perpetuate a system that causes nothing but misery and death worldwide. Let’s give our kids more and better options than joining the military.

You may believe that flag-draped casket contains a hero, but I refuse to romanticize it, sorry. I see a waste of human life and just another victim of unfettered American Imperialism.