Polling reveals that people who always support wars are usually idiots
Anyone who thinks that supporting the troops means supporting pointless wars, or that bombing villages somehow "teaches them a lesson" is not a deep thinker. When you encounter people that reflexively support wars against places and people that they know absolutely nothing about, you should be aware that you are dealing with someone who is both ignorant and angry.
Yesterday we discovered that while the vast majority of Americans can't find Iran on a map, they generally support killing Iranians anyway.
Twenty-eight percent of registered voters were able to accurately label Iran on a map of the Middle East region, according to new Morning Consult/Politico polling conducted Jan. 4-5, before the Iranian military fired missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops....
Voters were more likely to support (47 percent) the airstrike that killed Soleimani than oppose it (40 percent).
If you figure that about half of the people that can find Iran on a map oppose going to war, that means that roughly 1 in 3 Americans supports causing a war against an unknown place.
Which reminds me of this poll done a few years ago.
In its poll, Public Policy Polling asked the 532 Republicans: “Would you support or oppose bombing Agrabah?” While 57% of responders said they were not sure, 30% said they supported bombing it. Only 13% opposed it.
Public Policy Polling also polled Democratic primary voters: only 19% of them said they would support bombing Agrabah, while 36% said they would oppose it.
Republicans should be embarrassed by their blood-lust, but note that only about a third of Democrats opposed the bombing of a place that doesn't exist. A large segment of American society is so f'd up that they support killing people simply because they like to see people die.
That brings us to the most illustrative headline of them all from six years ago.
There is a great deal of confusion as to where, exactly, the US is conducting air and drone strikes, though the public does tend to support ongoing campaigns
Most Americans couldn't correctly tell you of the places we were bombing at the time, but they still supported bombing those places. Some often supported bombing allies.
It doesn't really matter who we are killing, just as long as people are being killed.
But we are still the good guys.
If you think that poll was an outlier, think again. There was this poll in 2018.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Likely U.S. Voters know that the United States is still at war with Afghanistan nearly 17 years later, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey. But 21% do not think we are still at war with the Middle Eastern nation responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, while just as many (21%) are not sure.
[Note that Afghanistan is neither a "Middle Eastern nation" nor was it "responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks". Which shows that the pollsters are pretty ignorant as well.]
It's obvious why the politicians and media support endless wars, but it's important to recognize that a big reason why they can get away with this extreme criminality is because a significant percentage of Americans supports extreme criminality.
This vocal minority of Americans can generally be identified by their near complete ignorance of the countries that we victimize.
Comments
Do Americans know they are warmongers
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr4cDN0xx88]
Riffing on Jeff Foxworthy...
You know you're a warmonger if:
wow... half of America doesn't know we are still in Afghanistan?
Even if you watch MSM how can you not be aware that we are fighting the longest war in US history?
Oh look now Nancy is trying to restrict Trump from going to war with Iran.
Here is Tulsi saying that congress had an amendment to do just that and they didn't take it.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l46RRv_YfpM&list=TLPQMDkwMTIwMjDFD72PugL...
And once again I would like Tulsi to talk about civilian casualties and not just her 'brothers and sisters' who died. They willingly signed up, the innocent civilians did not.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Good point about Tulsi
She should also talk about the innocents who get killed. One of the problems is the ease with which Americans support war is because of no empathy or some naive idea that only the bad guys will be killed.
See my comment below
It is simply based upon my own experience. Thank you.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Tulsi's smart.
This guy I was debating on Fox's site swore that the US couping Iran and installing the Shah, who killed 100,000 Iranians, and supporting Saddam Hussein's war against Iran, which killed 1,000,000 Iranians, some of them with chemical weapons, was justified because Iran overran our embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for a year.
Few Americans care about civilian casualties when they're foreigners. Tulsi knows this.
That is a poor excuse for Tulsi not mentioning it
Maybe if more people were aware of how many innocent civilians we have killed in our wars they might start caring. I get this same excuse when I question Bernie's foreign policies too.
They damn well should start caring because of the amount of money spent on our wars of aggression that is basically sanctions on us. This is a heinous example of American exceptionalism. Our lives matter more than people across the pond. BS.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
I agree. n/t
you are on Fox news to debate someone?
You have a link? I would be curious to know who you are on Fox News.
https://www.euronews.com/live
I'm a devil on Fox.
I'm edg1955 there. Sometimes I argue the extreme liberal position. Sometimes I argue the extreme conservative position. Sometimes I argue the atheist position, sometimes the fanatic Christian perspective. Not much of what I post there reflects my actual beliefs, although my antiwar views often leak out. I usually play devil's advocate to whatever the current commenting trend is on a particular article. Fox News can't be taken seriously very often.
I' ve heard her
speak of the tragedy of the innocents being killed along with our "brothers and sisters" but not always. Just giving a little credit where due.
By far and away, she is the only consistent voice against the killing, wherever it is taking place.
Which is why, IMHO, she is being blacked out of the MSM.
Killing other people.
How did Brian Williams put it; "It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"
Rich douchebag.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
willingly?
I'm not so sure about her 'brothers and sisters' signing up willingly. With the death of the free enterprise system c. 1985, anyone who wants children of their biological own has little other choice but to join. By the time a purely private-sector non-college worker is bringing home enough of a regular paycheck to support a family properly, women of that age are too old to start bearing children.
It's more effective than the draft ever was. And it doesn't consume anyone rich enough to make trouble, at least not until Tulsi came around.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
I disagree
I remember the story of a guy whose wife had cancer but he couldn't afford insurance. So he joined the military to get it for her, but people said that he traded one life for many others. People do have choices of joining and knowing that this country is 'at war' everywhere so the chances of them being sent to them are pretty high. I know what you're saying..but I disagree. I don't let people off when they join a private company that sends people to war zones. They definitely know what they are signing up to do.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
The idea of choice and responsibility becomes
a very vexed and difficult thing in a system like ours.
I disagree with you, but I think looking into the reasons the question is so vexed is more important than our disagreement.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Yeah, well.
While I didn't work for a company that sends us to war directly, when my layoff notice came I was glad I no longer have to sell my soul to a corporation for a living. I worked for AT&T and I'll tell ya, that whole 5G thing I want no part of. That said though, I sure did work there for enough years to know I was in the belly of the corporate beast and I had no real choice but to accept that unless I wanted to, you know, give up eating....
There are too many reasons people join the military. Some join just to eat or have a home and for those of us who have not had to make that choice it's real easy to say one just "shouldn't join" but when your choice is that or nothing? As for those who also say the troops should just stand up and refuse to obey orders, anyone remember Pat Tillman and what happened to him when he questioned our goals in Iraq?
Blaming those who joined, for whatever the reason, is one more tool in a long line of divide and conquer. It also smacks of judgement on others' decisions which I for one have no sympathy for. Real easy to judge others when you're not in their shoes. The American Way.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Tulsi should talk about civilians being killed may sound good,
but I learned from first hand experience that particular line of reasoning when talking to people about these wars does not work. And yes, I know that anything I say here is simply anecdotal, but I did have about four and a half years of anecdotal experience with a local Peace vigil. Other participants in Peace vigils in other locales may have had a differing experience.
The following comment is not being aimed about you snoopy, so I hope you will not take it as such. This issue just keeps coming up over and over, not just here, but in other platforms.
I know a lot of people here want to discount Tulsi and any member of the armed services for simply having volunteered to serve their country. IMHO, this is form of virtue signaling. And I myself was guilty of virtue signaling too before I became involved in the Peace vigil. Based upon my own experience, the rationale for many people signing up for the military is usually one of two main reasons: (1) Patriotism or (2) Economic. Some here would probably see that as misguided, but we are talking young men and women who are barely adults, and usually their sophistication and life experiences are not close to being fully formed.
The first hurdle when talking to people about being against war is to get buy in. That means trying to find common ground with people who may not yet be opposed to war. And in my own anecdotal experience, most people who are not opposed to war are simply misguided or misinformed. So preaching about the killing of innocents (while probably the primary reason I became involved) is not a good sell. It is a form of guilt tripping any one who may not yet be opposed to war and a sure fire way to lose the chance to convert them. Everyone knows wars kill people, but no one wants to admit to being guilty by association. The people being killed are faceless strangers in a far off land which have been demonized by our government and the MSM. But talking about the deaths of Americans is something most people can relate to even if they do not know anyone personally who has died. Many small towns, particularly in the South and Midwest, have lost sons and daughters in these wars.
There were two things we avoided talking about with the people we met through the Peace vigil. We rarely brought up the death tolls of civilians and we never criticized anyone who had served. We always viewed service people are being victims of the military industrial complex, not villains.
Our main points of focus were the obscene costs of these wars and the fact that terrorism has increased since we began fighting terrorism on their lands. The second point is a back door to talking about civilian casualties and often led to a discussion of that after we were able to bridge the gap.
Not one other candidate is even willing to broach the issue of regime change wars except Tulsi Gaabbard and yet she gets criticized because she is not doing the way many here and on other platforms would. Tulsi Gabbard is giving speeches in which she must try to sell why being against these wars makes good policy for Americans to support. She does not have the luxury of being able to sell each individual person in a one on one conversation. And for the most part, her approach has been similar to the one we used in our Peace vigil.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Great comment.
I joined the Army at 17 to escape an abusive home situation. My military job didn't involve killing people (despite what some think, many don't) and prepared me for a civilian career I would not otherwise have been able to achieve. The GI Bill helped me pay for a college degree and get a mortgage for my first house.
I wish I'd been blessed enough to have parents that weren't responsible for the deaths of two of my brothers at age 20. I wish I'd been silver-spooned enough to be sent off to college right after high school. But I wasn't. The opportunity the Army gave me to leave poverty behind, leave drugs and alcohol behind, leave gangs behind, was worth it.
The "obscene costs" of war are not borne
by the people who start, enable and run these wars. They exist on the other side of the coin. They enjoy the "obscene wealth" that servicing war provides. Unfortunately, these very people are in charge in America. They do not feel the true costs.
Good point
It's like recovering the cost of raping the earth for it's resources
When it is time to collect for the damages done
the rapists have gone chapter 11
so we get to pay for their toxic leftovers
socialist policy for the corporations
capitalist clean up for the us
cause we gotta live here
question everything
Well said
n/t
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
More from Tulsi
Pompeo thinks it's funny to lie, cheat and steal: Some people at Fox News are not happy with Trump'
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs35O_TBbbU]
Lots of lies and good info here.
And Lee's rant was excellent. He still supports Trump, but he is fed up with this action. Good listen.
Pence ugh nuff said
If you can't watch the tweet here is the article on what he said.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Right...
There had to be a threat of an imminent attack. That's why Soleimani openly traveled through a public airport and then drove down a public highway in a civilian car instead of an armored vehicle. Headed for a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister. Knowing all along that America's electronic eyes and human spies were watching his every move. He must've been thumbing his nose at the US just before it was blown off. We had no choice, I tells ya.
Shh..you are debunking their talking points
Why anyone would believe a thing that comes out of someone I'm government after all the times they have lied to us is mind boggling, but people still believe that Saddam had WMDs and that all 17 intelligence agencies agree that Trump worked with Russia to steal the election.
Mueller: "There is no doubt that Saddam had WMDs."
Then when he was put in charge of Russia Gate and people were willing to believe him again.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Our government has lied to us
on such a regular basis that it has become their foil, or their self administered lie detector test.
Whatever they say, the exact opposite will be closer to the truth. Garranteed foolproof detection.
And they are to stupid to understand the concept. They just continue to lie as though we don't know they're lying.
Morans.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Pence, tRump, Pence, tRump
It's gotta be difficult to keep up with all the
BS they spout
https://www.commondreams.org/
Without Evidence, Trump Blurts Out US Assassinated Soleimani Because He Was Trying to 'Blow Up Our Embassy'
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans
are frighteningly easy to mislead.
No, but apparently it's just fine
for the boards of Raytheon, Booz Hamilton, and Northrup Grumman to tell legislators what they can and can't debate.
Also the boards of at least five petrochemical companies, one coal company, and thirteen banks.
And their friends who work in Langley, Fort Meade, and Quantico.
Better not cross 'em. They can get back at you six ways from Sunday.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
lol
Maybe soon the universities will be handing out degrees in "Idiot Science."
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
“Idiot America” is still a good read
Charles Pierce, author.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
No wonder propaganda works.
Physical war is only possible when the propaganda wars are won. I think Orwell once claimed that the way to make people compliant was to destroy prosperity.
People who are bad at geography
Are not necessarily incapable of critical thinking. I'm bad at math, but I still know the difference between syllogism and deductive reasoning. Not sure that poll really supports the idea that people who support war are not deep thinkers.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I'm saying that
if you:
a) don't know where a place is (or if it even exists)
b) and are often unclear about whether they are our current enemies
c) BUT you still want to kill the people there, then
Yes, you are an idiot.
I stand by that.
War is God's way of teaching Americans geography
I really have to ask what the devil's way of teaching
geography would be. /s
https://www.euronews.com/live
The devil makes sure geography isn't taught
He leaves it up to God.
The poll you are using for your argument
Does not speak to points b & c as you list in your reply to me. So by point of fact you are saying that if I cannot locate Morocco on a map but also support bombing that country then I am incapable of any kind of deductive reasoning on any other subject by virtue of being an idiot.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I used 4 different polls
did you read the whole essay?
As for your statement:
Point of fact, how are you going to bomb Morocco if you don't know where it is?
Serious question.
And if you don't know where it is, it's a pretty safe bet that you don't know much about Morocco. Because the first thing any book about a country starts with is a map of said country.
The map is usually on the cover of the book.
Thus your support for this war on Morocco comes from one of two places:
1) blind trust in our political leaders (that have repeatedly lied to us), or
2) angry ignorance
And let's be clear on this:
You aren't saying "I can't find this nation on a map, but I don't like it anyway."
No harm is done.
You are saying "I can't find this nation on a map, I don't know much about it, but I feel that these people need to die in agony. Including the women and children."
Perhaps you misunderstood me?
If you quoted 10 different polls where Joe the Plumber could not locate the country he supports our military bombing that still would not equate the premise the polls made.
A person can be deficient in one discipline, apart from the conversation you are having about the war, and still be highly proficient in another discipline.
To assert otherwise is the definition of syllogism.
Also, when did the use of ad hominems to discuss the merits of any argument become preferable over reasoned debate?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
For starters
you didn't really respond to anything I said in my comments.
Nor to anything in my essay.
Which brings us to your statement here:
Except that I didn't assert otherwise.
It appears that you've never made it past the first paragraph of my essay.
So in fairness I don't owe you more than a half-a**ed effort in response.
But I'll give you a full response anyway. Let me repeat something you've either ignored or didn't appreciate.
You aren't saying "I can't find this nation on a map, but I don't like it anyway."
No harm is done.
You are saying "I can't find this nation on a map, I don't know much about it, but I feel that these people need to die in agony. Including the women and children."
If you don't understand the difference between these two positions, then think of the difference between breathing and not breathing.
Because that's the difference between what you are trying to frame what I am saying, and what I am actually saying.
No, I'm not saying that either
I am saying that a person who cannot identify a particular country on a map is not necessarily an "idiot".
And then to equate anyone's repugnant beliefs as the litmus test for their mental acuity and then tie it into their deficient map reading skills is a curious way to promote your own logical argument.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz
Good for you. I'm not saying anything that would contradict that statement.
Which just proves for the umpteenth time that you have still not done me the common courtesy of reading my whole essay.
Therefore this will be my last reply to you.
Uh, then you are foolish.
I think less of the intelligence of people with deep racial prejudices. Because if someone holds an idiotic position as one of their core beliefs then it's a good chance that they are an idiot.
Well, guess what. Our GWOT is based on deep racial prejudices, and wanting people to die that you don't know anything about is an idiotic position.
I'm referring to the title of this essay
which stated that people who support war have mental deficiencies. I am disputing that. If you'd stated they had moral and emotional deficiencies, I'd have agreed.
And from one essayist to another, here's a little piece of advice: maybe you shouldn't take critiques so personal. Not everyone is going to agree with your premise.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
So I didn't have enough nuance in the title
but you didn't care enough to read a small essay to see if the title didn't encompass everything I had to say.
You're right. I shouldn't have bothered to respond at all.
Your title is part of the hook to get your readers engaged
Don't blame the readers if they call you out for using a dubious ad-hominem in yours.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
They ARE
an idiot if they Still support killing the people of that country they can’t find on a map. You’ve just Dropped the second half of gj’s statement to make Your point.
Look.
If you can’t Find a place on a map, that’s just ignorance. And ignorance can be fixed with knowledge. See Stephen King.
BUT.
If you support war on said country you can’t find on a map, that’s THE definition of stupidity.
Or your a psychopath.
Ephemeral ‘you’
The title IS correct in its entirety.
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
Anja is trolling me
I don't know why it took so long for me to see it.
I must be getting old.
But now I know that I can simply ignore any of his comments in the future because his only purpose is to produce a reaction. Not to add to the discussion.
Anja is a she, afaik or understood (edited)
(reading what I wrote I didn't like what I wrote before, so I edited the uglier wording out.)
and what she does is not trolling, but something I consider more irritating than that. If she is a he, all the more worse.
I guess Anja has to ask this her/himself. She/he thinks quite often she/he can tell other people how to behave. May be she doesn't realize it and we all verbalize a little bit more harshly, when tired and frustration about anything.
So, I would prefer you two kiss and make up.
(you did it!)
https://www.euronews.com/live
please understand
Anja is not in this site to elicit negative response.
I know her. And her objectives.
She is dealing with many of the same issues we all are.
Nobody has the right answers.
Your arguments are secure, in their own right.
She is having reactions to seeing as thus.
It is not personal.
More a factor of expressing an outrage.
Not your fault, nor yours to defend.
Please understand.
Thanks
question everything
I would buy your comment if...
she had bothered to read my whole essay. It would have taken 1/10th of the time to read it that she spent writing comments.
But she didn't bother to read the essay, so I'm not going to accept that. She felt it more important to make a point than it did to check to see if the point was relevant to the essay.
absolutely understood
your point is good
my suggestion is not so much to seek clarification
of various misunderstandings between
approaches to the same argument
more to find some things can only go so far
before devolving into interpersonal conflicts
not what the site is about
after all is said and done
question everything
interesting survey
There was a survey done of Afghan men about ten years into that war (they did not ask Afghan women because, well, that's present-day Afghanistan). It turned out that 90% of them didn't know about 9/11.
We were there killing people because of 9/11. Afghans only knew that they were being attacked.
War in the information age depends on who gets the information and who doesn't, as well as whether or not it was true.
The chart with approval and disapproval of drone and air strikes
is sadly telling also something else. The more 'white' the country's population is, the higher the disapproval.
https://www.euronews.com/live
gjohnsit:
did you take down your post on israel likely having bombed a target on the syrian/iraqi border?
i'd seen your title last night, came in first thing this a.m. to read your (rather murky) zero hedge ink, went and found this at south front, and now i can't find that post of yours. i'm assuming it's the same event, in any case....
‘Israeli Air Force Targets “Arms Shipment” On Syrian-Iraqi Broder. Casualties Reported’, dec. 10, 2020, southfront.org
additionally,
and while it's possible that this is also tangential, it put me in mind of an acronym org i couldn't recall. so...i went back to the café and found that bernhard at MoA had called this trump's playbook (or close). anyoo, he had a few tweets by adam johnson, one leading to:
‘Think Tank-Addicted Media Turn to Regime Change Enthusiasts for Iran Protest Commentary’, January 5, 2018, Adam Johnson, fair.org
That was I, WD
Here's more stuff to ponder as to what motivates
the twiiter in cheif, not good and not a word anywhere
in the MSM.....So as to anyone believing ameriKa is a
republic/democracy should have a look
https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-elect...
Operation Blackout
Why a Shadowy Tech Firm With Ties to Israeli Intelligence Is Running Doomsday Election Simulations
A shadowy tech firm with deep ties to Israeli intelligence and newly inked contracts to protect Pentagon computers is partnering with Lockheed Martin to gain unprecedented access to the heart of America’s democracy.
by Whitney Webb
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2020/01/donald-trump-has-just-blown-up-his-g...
Donald Trump has just blown up his goal of isolating Iran
The unified Sunni Arab response to Soleimani’s killing is not what Washington envisaged
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
my mistake,
although i'd seen you comment on the post, and it was posted in Community Content.
thanks for the links, but did you Unpublish it then?
Yes I did, no one was interested
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
I would love to see the raw data.
Over the past ten years or so, in the wake of the failure of the Iraq War and the collapse of its propaganda, a lot of Americans have become a lot less eager to go to war. It used to be that if you were right-wing, you automatically supported any war the U.S. entered.
In fact, Trump's anti-interventionism (supposed anti-interventionism) was something he campaigned on, and it seemed to gain rather than lose him votes.
So I'd like to see who was polled, among other things.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
You can't blame folks for ignorance
it's pretty much universal. Unless a people have a very recent experience with war in their own town or where they live they have a view of things that is removed from the thing. . I think it's just how we are made.
The people who die in wars and even the people who fight in wars are determined by geography. People in the south were in the confederacy, people in N Vietnam marched when uncle Ho said go. Same with Kurds, Taliban, most everyone.
I don't blame people for ignorance
We are all ignorant about something.
But I do blame people that want to see other people die for no good reason.
If you can't find a country on a map, then there is a near 100% chance that you don't know much about that country.
Which is still fine, except when for when people want to see people in that country die.
I had a client.
Divorce.
Kids.
The guy had parents who disappeared when he was a teen.
He managed to graduate. Married, had 3 kids, couldn't feed them, joined the Army.
He said he needed a paycheck, and if he had to kill somebody for a paycheck, he was good with that. He actually said he told his recruiters he would gladly kill for a paycheck.
He went through basic. His superiors loved his attitude, were heading him toward Special Forces.
He was top in his class in basic. Admired by EVERYONE.
And then, he was injured in some on base incident unloading cargo. Seriously injured, and the Army kicked him out. The incident broke his back.
He gets some compensation. He is just wild about not being able to fulfill his duties, as he was an expert marksman and would have been a superior killer for that paycheck.
He went wild in my office, and I had to escort him to the door. I got off the case because I felt he was a danger to me and my staff.
HE SIGNED UP TO KILL FOR A PAYCHECK.
All of you have experienced this, that, but these 18 to 20 year olds are NOT signing up because patriotism. They ARE signing up for a paycheck.
They have NO education about the history of our country, and patriotism is a foreign concept.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
how many angels on that pinhead?
That's right by the time you grow up you've seen how many advertisements about buying stuff and how money is good. Reality is somewhat different.