Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Joys of Being Angry

Some days, don't you wake up thinking, "Hey, I'm not mad enough"? Well, I have a sure-fired remedy!

I just finished a double-feature, courtesy of Netflix, and I have to say I'm significantly more angry than I was before watching these movies.

First up, "Who Killed the Electic Car?" Ah, the joys of big auto doing its best to kill off any possibility of weening ourselves off foreign oil.

Second in the line-up, "Why We Fight." This film is one of the most thought-provoking films I've ever seen, and does a great job of having a perspective, without flaunting it's agenda. Make of the facts what you will, but it's hard to avoid some conclusions that baffle and anger.

One of the themes in "Why We Fight" has to do with America's ongoing pattern of using our military might to pursue our self-interest. I'm all about self-interest, but recent events really make one think about our occasional (some would say frequent) hypocrisy. We invade Iqaq, then when Russia moves into Georgia, our leaders, even at the highest, start huffing and puffing about the fact that the world is a different place now, that nations cannot just impose their military might on other nations, and certainly can't invade other countries without provocation.

Oops. You kind wonder where we got that "arrogant" tag, huh?

These films will really get you going. Getting a handle on what drives our militarism isn't an easy task, and it leaves you feeling a bit powerless when you realize this pattern transcends individuals and administrations.

Prominent in "Why We Fight" is the farewell speech by Eisenhower, which included these amazing (and widely ignored or forgotten) words: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Does a little thing called the Roman Empire ring any bells?

3 comments:

Jonderson said...

Precisely why you shortly thereafter saw the development of efforts to slowly abandon support for the public education system. If the only weapon against the overdevelopment of the military industrial system is an educated citizenry, then we have been systematically disarmed little by little since the day Eisenhower uttered these words.

Chris Robinson said...

See? My blogs are not so crazy afterall.

Chris Robinson said...

Want another angry fest? Watch OutFoxed. It is all about how Fox News is run. Pure scum. All of them.