We don't need another hero

I’m so frustrated by friends who are idolizing Greta Thunberg. They’re creating memes and talking about how she gives them hope and how cute she is. They say that the young people are going to save us.

If I keep gnashing my teeth like this, I’m going to need implants.

This is the same Greta who said “Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you.”

This is the same Greta who said “Don’t listen to me. Listen to the scientists.”

This is the same Greta who said "You aren't trying hard enough."

I see this over and again among my friends. They want a hero. They idolize Molly Ivins. They brag about that time they hung out with Ann Richards. They post bodice-ripping selfies with Beto. They say "We need another Barbara Jordan; no one can equal her." 

But just tell them “we need volunteers for an event this weekend,” or “can you donate $5 to help refugees?” or “will you commit to reducing your fuel consumption?” and listen to the crickets.

Venerating others as heroes is cowardly and lazy. We're not supposed to put people on pedestals. We're supposed to take them as role models and extend their work into the world. We’re supposed to take their words as inspiration for our perspiration. 

Remember, Jesus never said “meme me.” He never said "post selfies with me and gain the kingdom of heaven." He said “get off your ass and do the work.” But nobody remembers that either. They'd rather write songs about him and pray to him for salvation.

But you have to save yourself. There is no other way. There never was and never will be.

Endless war?

Since 9/11, America has been at war in the Middle East constantly. Big, public wars like our attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, and quieter wars like our participation in (and escalation of) the civil wars in Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen.

None of these wars had any honest relationship to the safety and security of the United States. None of these nations was an aggressor towards us or remotely dangerous to our well-being. Some folks will point out that it’s really not our fault we got embroiled in war with Iraq – Bush lied to us so it’s all his fault. But I was a young mother with absolutely no political involvement outside of voting at the time, and I was distinctly aware that Bush was full of crap and had no real basis for the invasion, so Congress certainly should have known better.

The cost of these wars in human lives has been enormous. The US military and media purposefully underestimate body counts, but well-researched estimates total 6+ million, broken down as follows:

Iraq – 2.4 million

Afghanistan/Pakistan – 1.2 million

Libya – 250,000

Syria – 1.5 million

Somalia – 650,000

Yemen – 175,000

Besides the human cost of these unnecessary wars, we have spent over $6 trillion dollars waging them. That’s an incomprehensible number. $6,000,000,000,000. A huge percentage of that money goes to the companies that provide hardware, logistical support, ammunition, and fuel to the military.

It’s pretty obvious that the only purpose these wars serve is to provide a constant source of income to a few disgustingly wealthy and greedy individuals. Subservient or weak governments in the Middle East make it easier for us to control oil supplies. Supplying our enormous military moves money very efficiently from the public coffers into the hands of corporations.

Meanwhile, the media reports on the latest scary bombing without mentioning that the bombs were made in America or dropped from American planes, feeding the racist narrative that the Muslim world is inherently dangerous and unstable. And because only a small percentage of Americans are actually negatively affected, the lie is easily sustained.

It’s past time for Americans to wake up to the fact that they live in a rogue, aggressor nation; that we rain murder and mayhem on poor people around the world who have done us no harm and are powerless to resist our military juggernaut. It’s past time for the young men and women who serve our country to refuse to participate in these illegal wars. It’s past time for the media to stop playing along.

Just yesterday, I was accused of not “supporting the troops” as though I had committed the most horrific sin imaginable. Which is kind of funny considering that I’m a veteran. But the cult of “love our soldiers” is inherently dangerous. An army which complies with its mandate to protect its country needs no PR blitz. There is no need to coerce the people of a peaceful and righteous nation to feel love and pride for their institutions.

Yes, I joined the Army when I was 18. I don’t think I had any illusions about saving the world from communism, even though it was Cold War days. What I learned during my service informs my activism today. One of the things I learned was that all of the history I was taught in school was mythology; huge pieces of reality were simply left out to paint the U.S. in the glorious colors of freedom and democracy. Another thing I learned was how incredibly important the actions of individuals are. History has literally pivoted over and over again on the deeds of a single human being.

You must resist the path towards fascism that the U.S. is galloping down. Teachers. Soldiers. Engineers. Everyone. Business as usual isn’t an option anymore. Business as usual is what got us here. Refuse to get on that troop carrier. Refuse to make the gun or the software that guides it. Refuse to teach the lies. You could be the one who saves the world, or destroys it.