I was having an argument with my friend about the meaning of "support our troops." He kept telling me that you "gotta support our troops no matter what!" I kept telling him that I don't support the things our government is having our troops do. I don't support the wars or our foreign policy. He then got all heated and kept telling me that "maybe you don't support what's going on, but you still gotta support 'em!" It's a meaningless slogan, just like Chomsky said right here. All it does it make you feel like you're this patriot and you don't have to deal with the realities and bullshit of our foreign policy.
We can support our troops by having them get out of Syria and Afghanistan within the next two months. Why have we stayed in Afghanistan for more than 16 years?
Larry Lopez you probably will never read this because your comment was 2 years ago. Your friend is illogical and dangerous to society. Support our troops is similar to but not as clear as " My country, right or wrong". It means that if my country is in the right with a defensive war, then I will kill foreign enemies for it, AND if my country is in the wrong, then I will kill foreign innocents for it. If your friend can not see that he is morally wrong, then shun him, because all he need is the right price for him to kill you. He will kill people, foreign or domestic if he is told to do that by his governmental Masters.
as a german, we get a lot of hate because we are not as patriotic as other countries. ironically, what Chomsky just said made me proud of our lack of blind patriotism.
yes, it is massively exaggerated. we germans are proud of things that deserve our pride: - our football team (yes, we are not all talented players, but large portions of germany are voluntarily engaged in our "socialist" club structure that is the backbone of german sport) - our economy: we are aware of the fact that we profited most from the euro and easier exporting, but we also know that our attitude towards work and our innovation is second to no one - our socialised health and education systems, even though we know that social mobility and overall justice could be better - and so on... what i am trying to say is: we try not to be biased towards germany and see our country in a nuanced way and as a result of our own successes and mistakes. at least most of us. "post-war guilt" is a thing, i don't try to deny that, but it's not a problem because we learn historic facts in school and know, without trying to justify what happened, that the third reich was a direct result of a society that was denied its revolution and unity, then humiliated in the first world war and kicked in the balls by the great depression. "guilt" is just an ugly word for a rational and moral approach towards the past, and yes, i am proud of how we deal with our past, because many countries fail at doing so. best example: "black history month". there is human history, why divide it by skincolour?
***** very true. after all, our politics are still dominated by that generation that may have "german guilt", so you're quite right. the generation after the baby-boomers didn't have enough children, so we need immigration, economically speaking.
“When I was introduced to the military, I was only 4. My father was a soldier and he told me that we protected people. God blessed him that he believed that until he passed away. I followed his foot steps, I imagined myself a Jedi, up holding peace and ending conflicts with a firm and calm hand. So I wielded my weapon with pride and followed orders. I knocked down doors and took parents from crying children. We marched into a village and saw the people flee before us in sheer terror. I knew then, I had become a stormtrooper.” - Israeli soldier, dishonourable discharged after he gave an interview.
Now I don't support war at all. I'm vehemently anti-war and believe the US is a militaristic empire that slaughters millions just to maintain its influence. But I'm confident that an "Israeli soldier" would have NEVER have said that. Firstly you put "god bless his soul", these kind of backhanded religious platitudes are very uncommon outside of the US. There's not a single non-American that I know who has used the word "soul" and "god bless". Secondly, the post is riddled with star wars references. Star wars isn't as big as you think it is outside of America and Canada. Sure you have occasional fans but the mythos is deeply ingrained to the point where people incorporate those made-up words in their vocabularies. I also cannot find a single article that points to this mystery Israeli soldier So this story definitely NEVER happened. It's more likely that this was an American soldier that spoke of his experience in Iraq or Afghanistan
Yes, the ideal society for the masters is made of individuals for whom the greatest disaster of the universe is that their favorite team loses the game. They'd want us to be brainless zombies
You can check your own spelling. And let me give you some advice. Instead of insulting people you disagree with, maybe show why you disagree with them and actually make an argument.
Since there was no video I closed my eyes and envisioned him standing with a mike in front of a red brick wall, like the comedian in that sitcom I used to watch alone.
Here is my slogan: Inner peace first, inner peace first! Why? Otherwise, I am too busy watching my inner turmoil to see clearly and to respond accurately.
The natural extension of "Support Our Troops" is to correct the conditions that lead them to signing a recruitment contract in the first place. For some people it's a "calling" or they want to follow a family tradition. For the vast majority it's the only job they can get with anything resembling proper benefits. The military can also be more of a family than some people have at home. It could be the only way that the recruit can "be a man" and make money in a male-dominated environment. If you supported the troops you'd be concerned for the person who may have been led to joining for terrible reasons. For some people it's the only way out of a dead-end situation. But often you only get mindless jingoistic lip service and those same people are unconcerned with the plight of poverty draftees and veterans.
Chomsky nails it again. The same "support our troops" propaganda was trotted out over here in the UK during our various controversial military endeavours. Doesn't work on me, though, because I recall how "I was only following orders" didn't cut it at Nuremberg. We expected those troops to refuse to carry out immoral orders, so why should the standard be any different for our own troops?
Saw a Facebook post from an account called ‘Proud to be an American’ today that read, “Should confederate history stay in our country?” Now I see what Chomsky is talking about... means absolutely nothing. Oh and by the way, the account is a Canadian marketing and media agency called Render Media.
I grieve the loss of adolescence through the draft during the Vietnam war, tearing young men away from their families and higher education. I grieve for the children of those parents sent to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the world. I grieve for the parents torn from their families. I grieve for the soldiers who now have a life experience only other soldiers will ever understand, and spend their lives questioning why. I grieve for the profiteers of war. They will never understand their lust for profit will destroy our world.
Steve Earnshaw or the children in Vietnam still being born deformed from chemicals US planes dropped and the 1 million Iraqi’s murdered by Bush & Cheney’s lies. It is weird that even while being against war, which is considered “anti-patriotic”, our instincts are still to feel more sorry for the US pilots that have nightmares from bombing villages than the actual villagers that got bombed.
@@brock5373 you can thank your awesome education system for that type of bias... where you put the rights and lives of your so called "brethen" over the rights and lives of some savage /animal in a distant land where their biggest crime was the dedication of growing and producing, at their own cost, for themselves and not for some over seas company.
3:00 "... The last legal victory for labor really was in 1935, the Wagner Act. After the war came the decline of unions and in fact a very rich working class culture that was associated with the unions that was destroyed ... " But they didn't go down without a fight. 1946 saw the largest mobilization of striking workers in US history. Then in 1947 the Taft Hartley Act was passed, receiving votes from members of both political parties, showing us, once again, the distance between Washington and the American people
The 1937 Federal labor acts forbid government unions. Something numb fkng CHUMPsky HATES. ACADEMIC TENURE HIS JOB IS THE MOST Protected JOB IN THE WORLD. MARXISM AND KARL MARX ATE HIS CREED AND GODS. MILLIONS OF HUMAN BEINGS DIED BY MARXISM. CHOMPSKY IS EVIL MARXIST CRITICAL THEORY SATANIC SOCIOPATH INCARNATE.
In poland People say "bóg, honor, ojczyzna" which means "god, honour, homeland" Funny that none of these things exists But people in poland still buy this poor slogan for over 100 years
Support them by having them w/their families who need them now & forever ... Each one of us would be a hero IF an attack is in our own country, stand up for it & not follow ezrael in doing its bidding ... The lives of our boys & girls are NOT expendable ... Enough is enough of their vain losses ...
Africa is the new Middle East for 2017 onwards. The middle east goal is achieved - instability that will fester for years. There are 33 US special force deployments in the African nations.
the best way to 'support the troops', is to not send them on a wild goose chase to risk life and limb just to 'bury bad news' eg 'approval ratings are down' or for reasons that are false. That's the way you honour the troops.
Jyargurinsk Minicyzk Kopian Menias The Un-Beholden Son Of Deberiah Yrundheitl Massuvius Krasserr For many its the sole way for them to earn an honest living or develop a successful career. Pay for their education.
***** Well that portion of those who serve isnt as large as you would think. War crimes committed by US personnel isnt by any means a common occurence. Does it happen? Absolutely. But most who serve dont have an MOS or rate that puts them in a combat role. I qualified for cryptoanalysis. Thus my job wont be anywhere near a combat zone or operation taking place.
***** You bring many valid critiques. I do deplore the US foreign policy by and large. Many of those conflicts had no basis to begin with besides a propagandized view of capitalism versus Marxism.
Support the foot soldiers of corporate America: over here; over there; everywhere, for the yanks are coming , the yanks are coming and it won’t be over till it’s over over there 🇱🇷
His point, which probably is crystal clear to just about anyone who would bother to watch a Noam Chomsky video, creates profound cognitive dissonance in many Americans. My former neighbor, for one, simply could not deal with such nuance or complexity. If an issue wasn't yes/no or good/bad he literally couldn't handle it, he couldn't get his mind around it, much less discuss it. The few times we tried to discuss politics, all he could do was resort to parroting slogans he'd heard on TV or seen online. Guess who he voted for in 2016?
CHIMPSKY is lying Marxist economics ass hole his whole life.pure snake oil Cliches and Platitudes. Read. Thomas Sowell. His African American contemporary. Sowell dumped that Marxist BS early in life. Chompsky made a living selling Marxist Cliches for decades to Suckers.
OUR troops, really? Hey, i, for one, didn't know that *I* had any troops at all. Come to think of it, i'm positively certain that (a) i do NOT have any troops, and that (b) i can assure you'all, that IF i had any troops, they would be very busy doing totally-different things from what just about ALL troops everywhere are doing now. Things like stopping the real mass-murdering criminals, those in $1000 suits and with private jets, who are destroying Eaaarth ('s living communities and regenerative capabilities) and exploiting and cannibalizing the 'rest' (i.e. 99.99...%) of humankind!
They're both obvious statements that no one disagrees with and thus are solely intended to change the original conversation in order to demonize anyone who disagrees with false claims or methods by said people or the state (which is also people)
Black Lives Matter is a grassroots call to END normalized state murder of an oppressed minority population. “Support our Troops” is a state slogan meant to reinforce state murder of foreign populations. It’s the opposite.
Talking shit about BLM is PR created ignorance man....US history is founded in slavery and genocide. Our jails based on holding fugitives (runaway slaves) until their masters arrive. Our first prison based on an English workhouse (collectively beginning the criminalization of the poor in America). Our founded police institutions based on protecting property (slave patrols), protecting property against union/labor strikes, protecting property against anti-racist movements. And still, there is this tendency to continue militarizing the police further, and continue mass incarceration within the paradigm of our US prison industrial complex (a modern day form of slavery). To continue to criminalize the poor, while disproportionately affecting people of color with the war on drugs. We are truly a racialized state capitalistic society for which we are all responsible for understanding and to try and change this shit. Civil Rights doesn't stop at 1965. The fight for real freedom and democracy will not stop! Corporate masters live in fear from this notion, let alone the rest we fear as individual humans.
That's such a horrible conceptualistaion. I mean people can think as far as they can and many don't have the ability to understand complex prosesses, what is why work towards making them not by telling them *what is happening* but by *helping them understand how the things they understand impact them and what soulutions at the present moment are yet known of* is so important to me that I put that as being the first thing I need to work on and then anything else is in the clouds and can be done later
So our troops shouldn't have invaded Germany while hitler was ethnic cleansing ? And you speak mainly freely doing a lecture you couldn't do that in china or Korea. Unless its what they want . Without troops. ?
