...“Support our troops”, despite its benign-sounding inclusiveness, is not a neutral statement. As our new, federal slogan, it makes “our troops” inseparable from the government that commands them, leading to high cynicism; the near impossibility of our troops not being supported should they be doing rescue work, or genuine humanitarian protection, or genuinely defending the people of this country; and the deflection of valid criticisms, such as the war’s blatant manufacture, its illegality and immorality, a crime of the highest order – by keeping the focus on our troops who are doing the sacrificing – in effect, the government hiding behind the skirts of the troops while sacrificing them. The “War on Terror” is not really a war, and it’s certainly not on terror. It’s a brand. If the government was selling it for $$ it would have a logo. Instead they’re pitching it for obedience. Do what we say, and we’ll keep on keeping you safe from those terrorists. Only we know where a lot of terrorists are, and we know where they cash their checks. This is unofficial. Officially, we cannot commit terrorism because our State Department restricts it, by definition, to the sub-national level. Anyway, as I write this the brand is getting a little worn so the “War on Terror” is in the shop for a nomenclature change. ...If we live in a country with the widest disparity between rich and poor of any country in the world, with large numbers from both classes behind bars – the poor in their prisons and the rich in their gated communities – and national economic policy is to accelerate the pace of that widening gap; if we commit the “supreme international crime” of waging aggressive war, pretending we are freeing a people whose dead and mutilated we can’t be bothered to count; if we bomb Iraqi hospitals with children in them while prosecuting Americans who dare sneak vital medicines into Iraq; if our government plants fake “news” stories here at home while killing real journalists elsewhere; if our biggest problem with prison torture is the damn digital camera that revealed it, if this is what our republic is “standing for”, then what’s the difference if it’s under God or not? - - - James Rothenberg