No one is calling the military baby killers, and I for one am sick and fed the hell up with vets coming into the threads and acting like victims. That baby killer, they spat on us crap has no place in a serious conversation about militarism and the culture of violence.

Or as you vets are so fond of saying, get the hell over it, and deal with where we are at today.

There are many, many serious, thoughtful people on this planet, who do blame militarism and the culture of violence for most ills we face today, because that militarism and cultures of male violence are two root causes of the vast majority of human suffering on this earth today. The others are the greed and avarice of the global ruling elite, and it's mirror opposite, grinding, inescapable poverty.

I mentioned the Chris Hedges book because it is the most lucid account I have ever read of the allure of war, and the addiction to violence that is so prevalent today. The reason why his book is so right on, is because he himself has suffered the addiction as a war correspondent. But because he also happens to have overcome his addiction, he speaks with a power few Americans can match.

Chris Hedges also is the son of a Presbyterian minister who became a pacifist and anti-war activist after fighting in WWII. Hedges also studied at Harvard Divinity School. For those who would like to read a much different perspective on militarism than is being offered by the pro-militarism Vietnam vets here in Mudcat, from an excellent writer and thinker who has also been "in the trenches" in MANY wars, I have found a few more interviews with Chris Hedges I am linking to below.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week622/hedges.html

Chris Hedges NOW interview with Bill Moyers