tom_thinks

I recently read this article by Robert Jensen on Common Dreams. Here's an excerpt

The claim that 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is a conservative movie may strike some as ludicrous. But the film endorses one of the central lies that Americans tell themselves, that the U military fights for our freedom. This construction of the military as a defensive force obscures the harsh reality that the military is used to project U.S. power around the world to ensure dominance, not to defend anyone's freedom, at home or abroad.
Instead of confronting this mythology, Moore ends the film with it. He points out, accurately, the irony that those who benefit the least from the U.S. system -- the chronically poor and members of minority groups -- are the very people who sign up for the military. 'They offer to give up their lives so we can be free,' Moore says, and all they ask in return is that we not send them in harm's way unless it's necessary. After the Iraq War, he wonders, 'Will they ever trust us again?'
It is no doubt true that many who join the military believe they will be fighting for freedom. But we must distinguish between the mythology that many internalize and may truly believe, from the reality of the role of the U.S. military. The film includes some comments by soldiers questioning that very claim, but Moore's narration implies that somehow a glorious tradition of U.S. military endeavors to protect freedom has now been sullied by the Iraq War.
The problem is not just that the Iraq War was fundamentally illegal and immoral. The whole rotten project of empire building has been illegal and immoral -- and every bit as much a Democratic as a Republican project. The millions of dead around the world -- in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia -- as a result of U.S. military actions and proxy wars don't care which U.S. party was pulling the strings and pulling the trigger when they were killed. It's true that much of the world hates Bush. It's also true that much of the world has hated every post-WWII U.S. president. And for good reasons.

I think Robert Jensen makes a great point with this article and I'd say its a must read for all fans of Fahrenheit 9/11. While I don't necessarily agree with everything he writes, his central argument is something we should all keep in mind. Stopping American empire is a bigger and more difficult task then simply replacing the president.