“It was from this aircraft carrier that some of the first assaults on Iraq were launched. This ship supports what's happening in Afghanistan.
I think some of you may know because it's been reported that the men and women on the Carl Vinson were part of that critical mission to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.” Barack Obama
I was completely creeped out by this image. It is a photograph of a basketball game played onboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on Veterans Day. Veterans Day used to be a simple holiday in which we honored veterans of past wars. In fact, over the years it had become largely ignored as the population of veterans aged and dwindled.
That was before the United States embarked on its latest incarnation of empire and endless war. Now we are given a steady dose of militarism. There is no where we can escape and sports have been particularly contaminated with this noxious pro-military ideology.
I enjoy watching football because I like the sport. Now, viewers have to endure fly overs from fighter jets, enormous American flags, and military marching bands. It really makes me sick.
Yesterday I got even sicker when I read that the Michigan State and North Carolina college basketball teams would play a game on the Vinson, the vessel from which bin Laden’s dead body was dumped into the sea.
It isn’t an over statement to call this fascistic. Constant displays of patriotism are among the universally agreed upon criteria of fascism. Having the president attend this event makes it all but official.
I used to call the Bush administration fascistic because of the stolen election, invasion of Iraq and assault on civil liberties. Obama was genuinely elected but he embarked on a Bushian propaganda effort to demonize Moammar Gaddafi and pave the way for popular support of the assault on the Libyan people. He has expanded war on the entire African continent and has even argued, via a secret white house panel, that he has the right to murder U.S. citizens.
So the F word is coming back out of my closet. The Fascism Watch returns.
