Our celebration of war that accompanies each annual Veterans Day is reflected yearlong through our politics, news media, Hollywood, and education system. The consequences of this militarization do not stop with the death and destruction from the instability and wars but include the growth of a ravenous military-industrial complex, a Leviathan, at the expense of our economy and society. With 60% of the federal discretionary budget going to the Pentagon, military contractors and to pay the costs of past wars, the opportunity costs to American communities who are told there is not enough money for healthcare, education, environmental protection and other needs are severe.
Read Matt’s full piece for Veteran’s Day on Counterpunch.
That change from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954 signaled a conversion of the American government and its purposes. While the US was an empire before the Second World War, the victory in 1945 created an America that was The Empire. We have been reaping the consequences of that transformation ever since.
Capt. Matthew Hoh