If I had my druthers, I would have absolutely nothing to do with the murderous organization known as the "Department of Defense." However, seeing as the mysterious decision-makers at this immoral institution have not, in the past 90+ days, answered my request to be discharged, I will avoid imprisonment and continue to wear the prescribed accoutrements for a Petty Officer Second Class. At the same time, I'll also conjecture as to some "medals" that would more accurately represent what this so-called "War on Terror" has accomplished.
Military decorations are arranged in order of precedence, and on my hypothetical uniform the top medal would undoubtedly have to be the Death Toll Medal. The qualifications for wearing such a device would be related to the number of people that died as a result of U.S. military actions during the member's career. Those who "served" during peacetime would be hard-pressed to earn such a commendation, for the minimum death toll would need to be quite high given the astronomical number of deaths that quickly compile during war. In the current wars, a baseline of 500,000 dead would merit wearing the ribbon, with a gold star added for each 500,000 thereafter. Unfathomable though this may seem, it sadly fits with the the almost 1.5 million estimated deaths from these wars.
Although such casualty counts are minimized to the point of being generally unknown, surely all this death must mean that Islamic terrorism will soon be relegated to the history books as a phenomenon of the past. Unfortunately this is not so, and thus ribbon number two would come into play. It would be known as the Guarantor of Future Wars Medal. It comes in second to the Death Toll award, not for its lack of evil effects, but because its repercussions are much less easily measured. This decoration would represent one's efforts to ensure that there will forever be a growing population of once innocent people who are now bent on seeking vengeance for the unprovoked violence perpetrated against them by the U.S. Armed Forces.
Beyond the obvious death and destruction enacted in Afghanistan and Iraq, is the far more insidious effect of perpetuating the very need for a so-called "War on Terror." Considering that it is only because of the State that war exists, it should be no surprise at all that such a parasitical cycle is in place. The argument that "we can't just stop the War on Terror, because there are people out there that want to kill us," is an objection that I've frequently heard.
From my personal experience, I believe I can honestly say that I've been face-to-face with people who would have killed me if they had the opportunity. Now let's look at the all-important context in which that took place. The people to which I'm referring had been abducted from their native lands, possibly tortured, and then caged for years by people wearing the same clothes that I then wore when I met them. These people didn't necessarily know why they were so cruelly confined, nor did they necessarily have any reason to hope that they would be released. That this is true, has been confirmed by the man who currently accepts responsibility for these men's continued imprisonment, Barrack Obama.
I feel confident in claiming that if they were put in a similar circumstance to that which I described, a vast majority of people would have homicidal ideations pertaining to their captors, and even extending to the friends, family, and financial supporters of their captors. I believe this would be true regardless of the cultural, religious, or even "national" backgrounds of the people involved. Through this process, a new generation of both "terrorists" and "soldiers" are forged in their opposing, and not altogether inaccurate beliefs, that the other is out to get them and do their family harm.
Whether from the unjust confinement that I saw firsthand in Guantanamo Bay, or the slaughter of 100+ civilians in a mistaken U.S. airstrike, such violent and unjustified actions either serve to strengthen the resolve of those already convinced to violently seek revenge against the U.S., or they act as a catalyst for radicalizing what were previously peaceful people. Whatever the case, no good end can be achieved through such evil means.
Therefore, if trying to use violence to end violence is no solution, what can be done to bring about change? According to Ludwig Von Mises, "To defeat the aggressors is not enough to make peace durable. The main thing is to discard the ideology that generates war." That ideology can be summarized in one word: Statism. War is imperative for the continuance of the State, but neither the State, nor war are necessary. In fact, both are immoral, because, by definition, they both involve the initiation of the use of force.
If we are ever to achieve a society without war, we must chose to live in a society without government. Such a society is not a utopian dream, for there would undoubtedly still be individuals, or even groups, who engage in violence and theft. The difference would be the ostracism and moral condemnation with which any such individuals or groups would be confronted. In a Stateless society, a person demanding money, while threatening to harm you if you didn't comply, would be denounced and resisted as a mugger, instead of appeased and legitimized as a tax-collector.
Ultimately, the minutia of the names of ribbons on a military uniform is truly not a matter of great consequence. What is significant, is that by wearing that clothing, a person can commit the gravest injustice, murder, and yet do so while hundreds of millions of people cheer him on. Does it make any sense to scorn and punish one person for committing an action, and yet praise and support someone else for that same action, so long as it's done while wearing special clothing or using an official title? If enough people resolve this contradiction, then there will truly be an end to war, for there will be no State.
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Another outstanding episode of the Complete Liberty Podcast is available. This week's show starts by addressing war, and the first article covered was an inspiration for this week's blog. As usual, Episode 77 is available for free at the iTunes Store or can be downloaded by right-clicking here and selecting "Save As" or "Download Linked File."
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