"There once was a time when politicizing the military was seen as an egregious violation of the responsibility to support the troops. But after the presidency of a man who avoided service by claiming he suffered bone spurs, attacked the heroism of the late senator and prisoner of war John McCain, insulted Gold Star families who suffered the loss of a child in combat," (continued at /2)
~ Steven Beschloss
"despised the sight of injured soldiers, slurred soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice as 'losers' and 'suckers' and refused to honor war dead on a rainy day in France because it would muss his hair, is it any wonder that his cult followers have adopted his hostility?"
@wdlindsy It kind of is a wonder really. I grew up in a Republican military family in the 60s and 70s. My father, who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam would be utterly shocked and completely appalled. Unless, of course, he had been fed a steady diet of RW radio and news for the last thirty years. Then it makes total sense. When are they going to ban Fox "News" from military bases? We are slitting our own throats allowing that to continue.
@cujobyte I wonder what my father and uncles, all WWII veterans, would have to say about what's going on now. As you say, the big factor that has changed things is the steady diet of RW radio and news for the last thirty years.
@wdlindsy @cujobyte Every generation learns from the one before. The Cold War propagandists learned from the Nazis. The psychologists learned from the Cold War propagandists, the advertising agencies learned from the psychologists, and now it's coming back around full circle. That's a lot of manipulative power working against our best interests. I'm not particularly optimistic at this point.
@ambulocetus @cujobyte We are historically definitely loath to learn from history, and seem determined to learn from it only by repeating it.
@ambulocetus @cujobyte Thank you. A good point. I will never get the film Hotel Rwanda and the important, horrifying lessons it seeks to impart, out of my mind.