The enemy within

The giant all-consuming parasite

As Memorial Day approaches, we are reminded of the more than 1.3 million who made the ultimate sacrifice in our nation’s many wars. Only, our leaders don’t want us to think too long or hard about it.

The all-time death champion is, of course, our Civil War, claiming 620,000 lives, and dwarfing the second place “winner” WWII at a mere 405,399. Presumably, the casus belli of the former involved the supposedly “illegal”¹ secession of 11 southern states in 1860-61. With the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, abolition was added, but the Union at the time had no power to free any slaves in the South.

As it happened, slavery, as well as the traditional agricultural economy of the South, were becoming unsustainable. By what calculus—other than some sort of megalomania—can it appear economically viable to house, clothe, and feed workers, as well as provide for their medical care, as opposed to hiring people and simply paying them a salary?

Under what grotesque insanity is it appropriate for Americans to kill each other, rather than negotiate some sort of peaceful settlement, even if it WERE to involve secession? And, as if that weren’t bad enough, after 50 years or so had passed since the end of that war, and enough people who lived through it had died, the Lincoln cult, along with his memorial, began in earnest. How fitting that the 1922 dedication of the Lincoln Memorial was segregated. So much for the Great Emancipator.

Still, there were enough bad memories of the Civil War to prevent us from getting into World War I until near its end. Nonetheless, German atrocities in Belgium, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the infamous Zimmermann telegram were enough to affect public sentiment and spark our late entrance into this conflict.

The US benefitted from WWI in that traditional monarchies were destroyed in Europe, and we became a legitimate world power. Of course, the same results would have occurred had we just stayed neutral.

As a Boomer, the theme of the grand and glorious WWII was drummed into our heads nonstop, even if the postwar euphoria of the late 1940s gave way to our “great Soviet ally” now being identified as our mortal enemy. A growing sentiment of winning the war and losing the peace was countered by vicious attacks on Senator Joe McCarthy. Cold comfort that virtually all of his contentions—and many other “conspiracy theories”—were proven true with the release of the Venona documents.

The fact that these documents were not made public until 1995 tells you all you need to know about the perfidious nature of our government.

The Korean War was a stalemate, while the Vietnam war cost more than 58,000 lives, was a loss, and accomplished nothing. Nothing, except promoting the infamous military-industrial complex we were warned about by Eisenhower.

No doubt, many of those who perished in all these wars died heroically, even if the cause was not always as promoted, and even if they were sometimes sold out by their own government. As you ponder the deaths of these 1.3 million, consider also the far greater number who died from COVID and its “vaccines.” A bio-engineered virus, suppressed treatments, and a forced unproven vaccine. Never forget that the Feds spent far more effort cracking down on hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin than they ever did on fentanyl.

I’m waiting for a COVID Memorial Day.

1. That secession is illegal was only determined in the 1869 case of Texas v. White, and then only because the Feds did not want to honor $10 million in bonds.