Mythologizing War: The Hidden Abuse and Exploitation of Members of the Military, Veterans, and Gold Star Families

Due, perhaps, to not having experienced war themselves, or to an insensitivity and callous disregard for human life and suffering, our political leaders have failed to understand and appreciate war’s horror, insanity, and futility. Tragically, in their arrogance, they see war, even perpetual war, as a viable extension, perhaps even as a substitute, for diplomacy and as integral to implementing their hegemonic foreign policy agenda. From their perspective, the critical lesson to be learned from recent history – particularly from the Vietnam debacle – was not that disenfranchised people will endure tremendous sacrifice and struggle heroically and steadfastly against foreign occupiers and aggressors, or that military superiority and advanced weapons’ technology do not guarantee victory, but only that unsuccessful wars are due primarily to public relation failures. Consequently, to encourage public tolerance – perhaps even enthusiasm – for war, the Bush Administration has orchestrated an elaborate and multifarious campaign of distortion, misinformation, and lies. This move to influence, perhaps even control, public perception and support for war by misrepresenting and distorting its reality is not new or exclusive to any particular party or ideology. During the Vietnam war, for example, it was the liberal Democrats who lacked the moral courage and forthrightness to accept their Vietnam policy as inexpedient, ineffective, immoral, and unlawful. Rather, they chose, though not without considerable dismay and frustration, gradually to increase American involvement, escalate hostilities, and use lies and deceit to elicit support for their political agenda. Today, however, the neoconservatives have made distortion and misrepresentation into an art form. Their mythologization strategy is both complex and sophisticated. First, it contrives the illusion that war with Iraq – and eventually with Iran, Syria, North Korea, etc. – is necessary to defend America and the values we hold sacred. Second, it portrays war as antiseptic discouraging, even prohibiting, any media reporting that would reveal its inevitable horrors. Third, it appropriates religious rhetoric to depict war as a holy crusade against some absolute evil encouraging participation as righteous, glorious, honorable, and heroic. Fourth, it blurs the distinction between the enterprise of war and those human beings who do the fighting, killing, and dying. Fifth, it seeks support for the war or at least discourages opposition by preying upon the gratitude, empathy, and guilt of an ill-informed public now convinced that these sacrifices are made in their behalf.

Caught within the frenzy of mythological war, Americans are bewildered and confused into ignoring legal and moral concerns, and, inevitably, into rationalizing justification and warrant for the sacrifice of our children, the squandering of our treasure, and the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in an unprovoked, preemptive war against a sovereign nation. Consequently, we feel the exigency of accepting, though perhaps uneasily, as a patriotic and civic duty, the imperative never to question the justness or necessity of any war we wage, nor to criticize our political leaders, nor to dissent against their warist policies. As a result, we have become a culture characterized by hypocrisy and arrogance abiding by a view of war that is mythological and self-serving.

While all citizens suffer the effects of mythologization, clearly, none suffer as extensively and grievously as the soldiers and marines who must endure the horrors of the battlefield and the families of those killed or injured. Further, mythologization seriously hampers their ability to come to grips with and put their experiences into perspective, to heal from the war or from their loss, and goon with their lives. After having endured the moral ambiguity of guerilla/counterinsurgency warfare, in their efforts to maintain their moral integrity and self-esteem, many soldiers and veterans, feel impelled to staunchly defend the war in which they fought. They embrace the myth because of a dread, perhaps unconscious, that unless their war is remembered as just, and the threat as real, readjustment – living with the trauma and the memories of the horrors of combat – would be unendurable. Consequently, history must be changed to record the Vietnam war as a noble and necessary crusade against the evils of Communism and the invasion of Iraq as a justifiable response to the attacks of 9/11, as integral to the war against global terrorism, and, of late, to the freedom and democracy of the Iraqi people. In turn, from the pain and suffering of war’s participants, the myth is enlivened and the very mention of those who have already been injured or died discourages any talk of impropriety or wrong doing or of ending the conflict before final and ultimate victory has been achieved.

Many family members of those killed in war are also understandably hesitant to acknowledge the truth about war. Instead, they embrace the myth in the hope that purpose and necessity will comfort them in their grief and help them cope with their tragic loss. They speak of their lost loved ones as heroes and are comforted by the thought that they suffered and died for some important cause, to rectify some dire circumstance, to eradicate some prevailing evil. All that remains are the memories, letters, photos, a Purple Heart medal, and pride in their child’s sacrifice in behalf of freedom and American values. Dying for a mistake would, in their view, make the death more tragic and living with the loss more intolerable. Once war becomes mythological and intricately linked to the warrior, any questioning of purpose, justness or necessity dishonor those who died, discredit the sacrifices of those who served, and further overwhelm those struggling to recover from its inevitable trauma.

Judging by the intensity of the debate over the Vietnam War that plagued much of the 2004 Presidential election, the divisiveness of Vietnam has not been resolved. If anything it has festered, inflamed by similar concerns and questions regarding the legality, morality, purpose, and necessity of the war in Iraq. The continued polemic about a war some thirty years gone and the escalating debate regarding America’s continued involvement in Iraq are symptoms of the public’s bewilderment and confusion regarding the realities of war and a consequence of the myth perpetuated by political leaders pursuant to their goals of hegemony, neocolonialism, and empire. As long as we mythologize war and connive to change history, the divisiveness that surrounds Vietnam and Iraq will forever linger. If our veterans and Gold Star Family Members are ever to abrogate the pain, suffering, and grief, and at last find peace, the mythologizing of war must be exposed and the truth about Vietnam, Iraq, and the reality of war must finally be acknowledged. Healing requires working through difficult and emotionally devastating experiences and to begin the journey to recovery victims must distinguish fantasy from reality. Accepting the truth about war, though difficult and disconcerting, will ultimately prove uplifting and curative.

Unfortunately and tragically, perhaps war is a reality that will not soon go away and sacrifices on the field of battle will again be required. However, by demanding truth and recognizing war as it truly is, we will begin to resolve the divisiveness in our beloved nation, and provide veterans and devastated families the opportunity to heal and to achieve some semblance of normalcy in their lives. Further, we will ensure that war remains a means of last resort, that no other person will again have to kill, die, or grieve the loss of their son or daughter for a cause that is misguided, and, perhaps, most important, that those who dare to initiate such wars and connive to use deception and myth to encourage participation and support are held responsible for their crimes against humanity.

Biography: Camillo “Mac” Bica, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. As a veteran recovering from his experiences as a United States Marine Corps Officer during the Vietnam War, he founded, and coordinated for five years, the “Veterans Self-Help Initiative,” AKA the HOOTCH Program, a therapeutic community of veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Brooklyn. He is a long time activist for peace and justice, a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and a founding member of the Long Island Chapter of Veterans for Peace. His publications include On the Duty to Counter Recruit, Truthout.Com, March 7, 2007; The Brotherhood of the Warrior: The Love that Binds Us, MRZine, March 19. 2007.