posted on Apr, 5 2006 @ 01:34 PM
A lot of it is fear based, I suspect. For example, Americans have never felt the tramp of the enemy boot upon their own land. Every time they're
involved in armed combat, it occurs in someone else's land. They're aware on some level (although they may attempt to repress it) that what goes
around, comes around sooner or later. Along with such awareness may be an element of guilt, conscious or otherwise, about the fact the US inflicts so
much suffering on others whilst avoiding same, first hand, at home.
In childhood, Americans may find themselves wondering what would happen if the 'enemy' arrived on US soil and dished up some of what the US has
inflicted on them. For a child raised in bomb-free. rubble-free suburbia, such thoughts would cause considerable anxiety. Attempts to distance
himself from such feelings of fear and insecurity might foster in the child the seeds of isolationist attitudes, such as: " We're safe here. No one
can get to us. We're far away from everything. The bad guys don't have good enough planes or ships -- they can't reach us. Our planes and ships
are the best in the world. WE are the best in the world. We can beat everyone. "
The child might see graphic footage of dead and dying Iraqi children on the tv news for example. Children quite often identify strongly, in such
situations. The child might ask its parent: " Is he (Iraqi child) really hurt? Did it hurt him when his legs were blown off?" The child may
betray considerable concern and anxiety, which the parent may attempt to quickly dismiss by remarks such as: " You betcha! ". On the other hand,
the parent may himself be uncomfortable with the facts, in which case he may reply: " Nah -- he wouldn't have felt it. Too quick."
The child may persist however: " But Dad .. he's crying, look. It's hurting him. Why did the soldiers shoot his legs off ? He's just a little
kid like me ".
" He got in the way, son." the father may reply, intent upon discouraging this line of discussion with which he himself is non too comfortable, "
He was throwing rocks at US troops, son. He might even have had a gun, you know. He's the enemy. If he had the chance, he'd kill you quick as
look at you. He'd kill your brother Randy if he could. You wouldn't want that, would you? You wouldn't want Randy to get hurt over there, or get
killed even. It's war, son. That's why our men have to kill them. We're trying to give them their freedom, but they're too stupid and stubborn
to understand that. They don't even have toilets over there, son. That's how ignorant they are. No schools, no toilets, no god. If we don't
kill them, they'll come over here and kill us. They'd kill me and then they'd kill mommy and you and little Jake here."
" Would they kill our dog and our rabbits too, Dad?"
" They sure would, son. They'd kill 'em and eat 'em, quick smart."
" But you'd stop them, Dad, wouldn't you? " very nervous now.
" Don't you worry about that, son. They won't be coming here. Randy
wouldn't let them. That's why he's over there now, fighting for our freedoms and to make sure they can never get over here to harm you and mommy
and grandma.
So the child (and many adults) have an underlying anxiety about the capabilities of 'the enemy' (regardless of who that enemy may be at any given
moment). It compensate and quell their fears, they engage in bravado. They need to believe that the US is invincible, superior, safe from
retaliation at home.
War's not really real, if it's on tv. Those amputees and wounded can't really feel anything because the god-like US surgeons have injected them
with generous doses of pain-killer. And anyway, they're the godless, unwashed and worthless enemy that refuse to appreciate the freedoms 'our
boys' are trying to hand them.
To create further reassurance that he/she is safe on the couch, many demonise the enemy (to compensate for feelings of guilt and empathy) and create a
new world-map in their minds, in which the US rises like The Land of Goodness out of limitless oceans which protect and isolate it from the rest of
the world 'way over there somewhere'.
They constantly reassure themselves by discussing the superiority and limitlessness of US resources. Discussing these in detail can develop to the
point it's like a nervous tic. When anxiety rises, it can be dealt with by detailing fire power, rocket and troop numbers, etc., because these are
what the individual relies upon for his sense of security.
The ultimate fear-queller is discussing the blows that the US is capable of delivering to that damn enemy which causes such fear and interferes with
the individual's enjoyment of life. Fighting a war vicariously in this way helps build the individual's courage and confidence.
If/when armed combat takes place upon US soil, it's likely to result in reduced agression within its populace. When you've seen blood running down
street gutters and have had to pick pieces of your family out of the burning remnants of your home, it tends to make war the last option, rather than
the first .... 'pre-emtive strike' would be something only a suicidal politician would suggest, after that.