Leid Stories - 11/11/14

On This Veterans Day, A Reminder That We’re Missing In Action

As it usually does, the nation will pause today to salute veterans of its many wars. With purposeful patriotism, they will be thanked for their service to their country—giving their lives or taking other people’s in the name of “freedom and democracy.”

On this day, says Leid Stories, while we honor our veterans we should bear in mind that the government routinely dishonors them by literally making them the shock troops for regional and global domination. This day, therefore, should serve as a reminder that, on the matter of governmental misuse of the military, we are for the most part missing in action.

Vince Emanuele, a former U.S. Marine who refused to do a third tour in Iraq, talks about the culture of warfare, the plight of veterans returning home from war, the military industrial complex, and the importance of organizing resistance to it in order to create a just society.

Emanuele is an organizer for the Michigan chapter of Veterans For Peace and serves on the national board of directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War.