I don't talk about other veteran writers much. Not from my generation, at least. To some extent I sense that's because I don't interact with them much. I used to go to a lot of veteran workshops in NYC, but no longer. I'm actually not hundred percent on why that is. Competition?
Maybe
Or maybe that there are a couple "types" of veteran writer that the publishing world seems to adore, ones I didn't care for when inside or out. *
But when they write some good things, they do it well. With Gallgher's latest piece in the Times, we have something like an analysis of the latest row about the withdrawal from Syria and Trump's visit to the troops in Iraq.**
It's a good piece because it attempts to look at the Forever War and how we react to it. First, I have to commend Gallgher for getting into the fact that for all the TYFYS crap we see in the country, it's not really about the soldier since we've rarely voted these kind of people in:
I think this is indeed the case. Yet after talking about the forever war, Matt seems to claim not to know what to do (he isn't privy to Top-Secret meetings) about the wars, other than more transparency.
Certainly we need more of that, but I sense that he's missing the opportunity to truly diagnose the country and Trump as symptom.
Thing is, the whole love the troops cuts down racial and class divisions that don't really mean we love the troops. There is only an ideal (and I dare say it the ideal of a kind of white dominance—not always presented in this form—hence the ease with which someone can have POW sticker and love Trump who doesn't like "people who are captured) and that this ideal suspects certain people, seems to be lost on Matt.
Take, for example, this brilliant essay by Williams, a black veteran. Go on, read it. It's damn near the best thing written by a veteran this century (you sure as hell won't see it on the pages of the MSM, though).
Here's my take away point:
And therein lies the truth. Without tackling the white supremacy (in all its variety) behind the need for a war on brown people (for changing how we view certain resources***, to say nothing of helping people around the world). Yes this is something both at home and abroad, but one cannot separate the fear that many have of terrorism and illegals as well.
That Matt ignores this, and though I don't want to say why. Coming from the Army I know that the ideal is not to really dive into the details.
I welcome a discussion on our forever wars. Let's hope we can change our ways before it is too late.
*this could be a kind of haterism, I suppose.
**No, I don't want to focus on the argument over whether to stay or go. Of course the MSM would highlight the left and right coming together to "agree" when they aren't doing that. The left (the likes of Chomsky) believe that the reason to stay is merely to make sure the Kurds aren't run over by Turkey. Meanwhile the right (neoconservatives at least) want us to fight no matter what... I'm guessing for oil or something like it.
*** Matt calls this "The American public has been conditioned to believe that foreign war is necessary, even vital, to maintaining our way of life." without getting into the odd fetish, or defensiveness of protecting a way of life that looks set to kill the world off (I'm talking about Climate Change here). To be fair, Matt does claim that we need to not allow our leaders to make stupid excuses for these wars, but without unpacking the white supremacy behind much of the fear, it's useless to do so.
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Maybe
Or maybe that there are a couple "types" of veteran writer that the publishing world seems to adore, ones I didn't care for when inside or out. *
But when they write some good things, they do it well. With Gallgher's latest piece in the Times, we have something like an analysis of the latest row about the withdrawal from Syria and Trump's visit to the troops in Iraq.**
It's a good piece because it attempts to look at the Forever War and how we react to it. First, I have to commend Gallgher for getting into the fact that for all the TYFYS crap we see in the country, it's not really about the soldier since we've rarely voted these kind of people in:
In so many ways, Mr. Trump is not a cause of diminishing respect for the military, but a symptom of it. So it is with 21st-century America and war. “Thank you for your service,” but spare the details, please.
I think this is indeed the case. Yet after talking about the forever war, Matt seems to claim not to know what to do (he isn't privy to Top-Secret meetings) about the wars, other than more transparency.
Certainly we need more of that, but I sense that he's missing the opportunity to truly diagnose the country and Trump as symptom.
Thing is, the whole love the troops cuts down racial and class divisions that don't really mean we love the troops. There is only an ideal (and I dare say it the ideal of a kind of white dominance—not always presented in this form—hence the ease with which someone can have POW sticker and love Trump who doesn't like "people who are captured) and that this ideal suspects certain people, seems to be lost on Matt.
Take, for example, this brilliant essay by Williams, a black veteran. Go on, read it. It's damn near the best thing written by a veteran this century (you sure as hell won't see it on the pages of the MSM, though).
Here's my take away point:
I have been looked at with suspicion and followed in stores more times than I have been looked at with respect while wearing my military uniform.
I have been stopped and frisked more times than I have been thanked for my service.
I have been called a nigger more times than I have been called a patriot.
I am a Black man, a father, a husband, and a combat-veteran. As proud as I am to wear those labels, above all else I would like nothing more than to think of myself as an American first.But my country won’t let me.
And therein lies the truth. Without tackling the white supremacy (in all its variety) behind the need for a war on brown people (for changing how we view certain resources***, to say nothing of helping people around the world). Yes this is something both at home and abroad, but one cannot separate the fear that many have of terrorism and illegals as well.
That Matt ignores this, and though I don't want to say why. Coming from the Army I know that the ideal is not to really dive into the details.
I welcome a discussion on our forever wars. Let's hope we can change our ways before it is too late.
*this could be a kind of haterism, I suppose.
**No, I don't want to focus on the argument over whether to stay or go. Of course the MSM would highlight the left and right coming together to "agree" when they aren't doing that. The left (the likes of Chomsky) believe that the reason to stay is merely to make sure the Kurds aren't run over by Turkey. Meanwhile the right (neoconservatives at least) want us to fight no matter what... I'm guessing for oil or something like it.
*** Matt calls this "The American public has been conditioned to believe that foreign war is necessary, even vital, to maintaining our way of life." without getting into the odd fetish, or defensiveness of protecting a way of life that looks set to kill the world off (I'm talking about Climate Change here). To be fair, Matt does claim that we need to not allow our leaders to make stupid excuses for these wars, but without unpacking the white supremacy behind much of the fear, it's useless to do so.
Enjoyed it? Share it via email, facebook, twitter, or one of the buttons below (or through some other method you prefer). Thank you! As always, here's the tip jar. paypal.me/nlowhim Throw some change in there & help cover the costs of running this thing. You can use paypal or a credit card.
