Forever Wars

Who would have thought that launching literally unending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, directed at abstract concepts like "terror," would come with high costs in terms of cash wasted, lives lost, and an American public that has pretty much tuned out when it comes to sacrifices made by military families?  Turns out, war-without-end is a pretty shitty thing for everyone involved:

"Young Americans now becoming eligible to enlist have seen primarily two portrayals of military service in their lives — either the heroics of Navy SEALs taking out high-profile terrorists or soldiers coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder in films such as American Sniper or The Hurt Locker, she said. One makes all military service seem unrealistic for most, the other a terrifying ordeal that ruins lives. This increases the likelihood that those who do enlist come from families and communities where they have been exposed to a more realistic image, and the range of options, she said.

'There is this huge respect and admiration for the military [in the US public], and very little real understanding,' she said."

The whole article is worth your time.  I'd only add that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were explicitly marketed as cheap, quick-and-dirty affairs that would be over in months with few costs in either blood or treasure.

Just shy of two decades later, here we are.

So I can understand why actual soldiers and vets and their families would be confused as to why regular Americans will have seizures when some athletes take a knee for the anthem, but at the end of the day can't really be bothered by somebody's son or daughter getting blown up by an insurgent's explosive device.  Not in 2018 at least, and not in any meaningful way beyond "thoughts and prayers."  War On Terror fatigue is real, and it's no accident that people basically don't care about wars where the "Mission" was "Accomplished" 15 years ago.

It's just sad all around that at the end of the day, we're talking about a "military caste" rather than shared sacrifice that cuts across class lines.  But it's no surprise, either -- support for post 9/11 invasions were based on the premise that deaths would be minimal at best, and that democracies would flourish with just the right amount of magical thinking and cash, and that everyone would be home in under a year.

Sure, I'll burn a pair of my Nikes in protest.  But that's about the extent of it.  Patriotism in America has become the ultimate form of virtue signalling.  And a lucrative one at that.