no soldier died for my freedom, ever.

So here is this holiday which in most cases marks the beginning of the summer season tourism and vacationing, created for the most part by the very people for whom nearly every single US soldier has died: the capitalists. Yes, capitalism is the root causality of all US wars, all US conflicts over the last 217 years. No matter how much people have been led to believe that US soldiers died for freedom or rights or such, one need only look at the Declaration of Independence and the charges against the King to notice that it really was about money and property, first and foremost. You know, those nagging tariffs, tolls, duties, and taxes that pissed off some of the constituency (clearly not all). Indeed, it wasn't until late 1787 that the notion that perhaps rights and liberties were significant enough to warrant being amended into the first US Constitution (there really wasn't a US before that remember?), but mostly because the smaller northern states wouldn't agree to ratify the whole without it (those pesky slaves and their masters, mmm).

So who are we kidding when the preachy get out on their bully pulpits this weekend and claim that so many died for rights and freedom?? Mostly ourselves, and that is important here, because damn it, we need to have a strong secure capitalistic consumer society. Go through the litany of US military engagements and it reads more like the hand of markets acquiring and securing property and power, than it does about anything closely resembling freedom.

• How is it possible that soldiers who died in the 123 years of indian wars were dying for freedom and liberty?? It isn't; they were dying for control and access to land, resources, territorial boundaries, secure transportation routes to move resources, dominion over species. There was nothing about freedom, only genocide and derangement of the planet.
• War with Mexico (well wars actually) provided more land, new expanded borders, unfettered removal of residents of mestizo heritage who lived and controlled land generations before the English colonists established their beachheads. But hey, those US troops must have really died for my freedom, because somebody says so. Now the mestizos return across the border obviously threatening our freedom and liberties (actually aiding and abetting the very capitalists who want us to think that way) so we better call out the troops.
• How about the Spanish-American War or the Hawaiian annexation or the defeat of Russians in the Northwest? Yeah, that sure made me free. Enslaving for future generations whole populations of people and species to enrich the already rich really was the purpose.
  
• Hell the US barely got enough votes in Congress to fight WW1 or WW2. Why? Because some of the capitalists knew from whence their great wealth was coming, while others felt that they might do better if the nation (lied into conflicts--think the Pearl Harbor scam) expanded its own military-industrial complex at the expense of... wait for it... others freedom and liberty.
  
• Is it possible to even begin to deny that a war against communist countries was anything other than a war for capitalism?? No, of course you can't deny that, except the very capitalists demand that those who died in these power struggles for resources, territories, markets want us to hold close to the illusion rather than see it for what it really was.

Next time some pseudo patriotic zealot claims that US troops died for your freedom, ask him about any of this. Do it kindly. Do it with civil tongue. Do it with immense and expansive compassion. But please do it.