In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, and so our public celebration of peace and an end to war became a rally to "support the troops," a state and federal day off, and a platform for military recruitment. (AP)
Armistice Day First
“You can no more win a war than win an earthquake.”
It gets harder to commemorate World War I, because of time and the public's embrace of, or indifference to, a permanent war economy.
About the Great War British novelist H.G. Wells wrote on August 14, 1914, "This is already the vastest war in history. ... For this is now a war for peace. It aims straight at disarmament. It aims at a settlement that shall stop this sort of thing for ever. Every soldier who fights against Germany now is a crusader against war. This, the greatest of all wars, is not just another war -- it is the last war!"
Optimists said it would be short, "Home by Christmas!" Instead, it was the worst bloodbath to date with an estimated 16 to 37 million dead. Combat and other acts of war killed at least seven million civilians and more than 10 million military personnel, while diseases, hunger, pogroms and targeted genocide killed millions more. Rather than "for ever" stopping war, the unprecedented wartime profiteering and victor's imposition of vengeful reparations set the stage for World War II's 70 million fatalities, and the nearly continuous string of money-making legalized murder that has continued since. One low estimate is that since "war to end all war," about 100 million people have died in war zones.
Armistice Day was established in 1919 to revere the peace, and to remember and commemorate WW I's the suffering, horror, fear, pain, and loss. In 1918, the headlines roared: "Armistice Signed, End of the War!" and Armistice Day was grounded in the near universal revulsion against war's dreadful costs, futility, graft, pointlessness and particularly against the corruptions and cold ambitions of the politicians who prolonged the conflict. Today's US government annually spend hundreds of billions on weapons production jobs that our xenophobic fearmongering and its consequent wars sustain. As long as US allies keep trading their oil and cash for US guns, even barbaric, medieval dictatorships like Saudi Arabia (which has beheaded 600 prison convicts since 2014) are coddled, pampered, guided and supplied militarily in its ghastly war of deliberately induced pandemics and malnutrition against Yemen.
In September 2014, on a visit to Italy's largest military cemetery, the Pope warned of a "piecemeal" World War III that may have already begun -- with dozens of ongoing, undeclared wars, official crimes, state-sponsored fighter jet and drone attacks, and specialized commando raids the world over. A short list of current warring includes US combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia; civil wars in Nigeria, Maghreb, Libya, and South Sudan; and the Mexican drug war. Pope Francis said about all this, "Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, and destruction."
In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, and so our public celebration of peace and an end to war became a rally to "support the troops," a state and federal day off, and a platform for military recruitment. Not everyone was pleased. The novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a World War II veteran and POW, later wrote, "Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not. So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things."
Two critics of World War I come to mind. Montana Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin said, "You can no more win a war than win an earthquake," and in his statement during his Court Martial in 1918, Max Plowman said: "I am resigning my commission because I no longer believe that war can end war. War is a disorder, and disorder cannot breed order. Doing evil that good may come is apparent folly."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
It gets harder to commemorate World War I, because of time and the public's embrace of, or indifference to, a permanent war economy.
About the Great War British novelist H.G. Wells wrote on August 14, 1914, "This is already the vastest war in history. ... For this is now a war for peace. It aims straight at disarmament. It aims at a settlement that shall stop this sort of thing for ever. Every soldier who fights against Germany now is a crusader against war. This, the greatest of all wars, is not just another war -- it is the last war!"
Optimists said it would be short, "Home by Christmas!" Instead, it was the worst bloodbath to date with an estimated 16 to 37 million dead. Combat and other acts of war killed at least seven million civilians and more than 10 million military personnel, while diseases, hunger, pogroms and targeted genocide killed millions more. Rather than "for ever" stopping war, the unprecedented wartime profiteering and victor's imposition of vengeful reparations set the stage for World War II's 70 million fatalities, and the nearly continuous string of money-making legalized murder that has continued since. One low estimate is that since "war to end all war," about 100 million people have died in war zones.
Armistice Day was established in 1919 to revere the peace, and to remember and commemorate WW I's the suffering, horror, fear, pain, and loss. In 1918, the headlines roared: "Armistice Signed, End of the War!" and Armistice Day was grounded in the near universal revulsion against war's dreadful costs, futility, graft, pointlessness and particularly against the corruptions and cold ambitions of the politicians who prolonged the conflict. Today's US government annually spend hundreds of billions on weapons production jobs that our xenophobic fearmongering and its consequent wars sustain. As long as US allies keep trading their oil and cash for US guns, even barbaric, medieval dictatorships like Saudi Arabia (which has beheaded 600 prison convicts since 2014) are coddled, pampered, guided and supplied militarily in its ghastly war of deliberately induced pandemics and malnutrition against Yemen.
In September 2014, on a visit to Italy's largest military cemetery, the Pope warned of a "piecemeal" World War III that may have already begun -- with dozens of ongoing, undeclared wars, official crimes, state-sponsored fighter jet and drone attacks, and specialized commando raids the world over. A short list of current warring includes US combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia; civil wars in Nigeria, Maghreb, Libya, and South Sudan; and the Mexican drug war. Pope Francis said about all this, "Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, and destruction."
In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, and so our public celebration of peace and an end to war became a rally to "support the troops," a state and federal day off, and a platform for military recruitment. Not everyone was pleased. The novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a World War II veteran and POW, later wrote, "Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not. So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things."
Two critics of World War I come to mind. Montana Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin said, "You can no more win a war than win an earthquake," and in his statement during his Court Martial in 1918, Max Plowman said: "I am resigning my commission because I no longer believe that war can end war. War is a disorder, and disorder cannot breed order. Doing evil that good may come is apparent folly."
It gets harder to commemorate World War I, because of time and the public's embrace of, or indifference to, a permanent war economy.
About the Great War British novelist H.G. Wells wrote on August 14, 1914, "This is already the vastest war in history. ... For this is now a war for peace. It aims straight at disarmament. It aims at a settlement that shall stop this sort of thing for ever. Every soldier who fights against Germany now is a crusader against war. This, the greatest of all wars, is not just another war -- it is the last war!"
Optimists said it would be short, "Home by Christmas!" Instead, it was the worst bloodbath to date with an estimated 16 to 37 million dead. Combat and other acts of war killed at least seven million civilians and more than 10 million military personnel, while diseases, hunger, pogroms and targeted genocide killed millions more. Rather than "for ever" stopping war, the unprecedented wartime profiteering and victor's imposition of vengeful reparations set the stage for World War II's 70 million fatalities, and the nearly continuous string of money-making legalized murder that has continued since. One low estimate is that since "war to end all war," about 100 million people have died in war zones.
Armistice Day was established in 1919 to revere the peace, and to remember and commemorate WW I's the suffering, horror, fear, pain, and loss. In 1918, the headlines roared: "Armistice Signed, End of the War!" and Armistice Day was grounded in the near universal revulsion against war's dreadful costs, futility, graft, pointlessness and particularly against the corruptions and cold ambitions of the politicians who prolonged the conflict. Today's US government annually spend hundreds of billions on weapons production jobs that our xenophobic fearmongering and its consequent wars sustain. As long as US allies keep trading their oil and cash for US guns, even barbaric, medieval dictatorships like Saudi Arabia (which has beheaded 600 prison convicts since 2014) are coddled, pampered, guided and supplied militarily in its ghastly war of deliberately induced pandemics and malnutrition against Yemen.
In September 2014, on a visit to Italy's largest military cemetery, the Pope warned of a "piecemeal" World War III that may have already begun -- with dozens of ongoing, undeclared wars, official crimes, state-sponsored fighter jet and drone attacks, and specialized commando raids the world over. A short list of current warring includes US combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia; civil wars in Nigeria, Maghreb, Libya, and South Sudan; and the Mexican drug war. Pope Francis said about all this, "Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, and destruction."
In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, and so our public celebration of peace and an end to war became a rally to "support the troops," a state and federal day off, and a platform for military recruitment. Not everyone was pleased. The novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a World War II veteran and POW, later wrote, "Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not. So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things."
Two critics of World War I come to mind. Montana Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin said, "You can no more win a war than win an earthquake," and in his statement during his Court Martial in 1918, Max Plowman said: "I am resigning my commission because I no longer believe that war can end war. War is a disorder, and disorder cannot breed order. Doing evil that good may come is apparent folly."