Halcyon Days Of Empire: Course Reflections

Don't watch if you can't handle war violence

Gone are the days of ignorance, and gone are the days of innocence. I had always known about the all-consuming US/NATO drive for global domination. However, I simply could not imagine the depth of calculated evil that underlies US military interventions abroad.  "Collateral Murder" was leaked by DOD whistle-blower Bradley Manning to Wikileaks in 2007. The above video is the result of his illicit access to confidential DOD files. It is one thing to hear about these things in class; it is quite another to witness them on screen. The July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikes were carried out with two US AH-64 Apache Helicopters (Unit Price: $24.77 million). This type of "collateral damage" is a regular occurrence in multiple Coalition war-zones across the Middle East. It is only by chance that we are able to view this information, this irrefutable evidence of a crime against humanity. This is not a war on terror, it’s a war on decency, it’s a war on morality, it’s a war against the right to live.

All of the texts we’ve covered in class have encouraged me to think critically about the world. Beneath the brushed-steel, frosted-glass veneer of globalization lies an ugly truth. Our IPhones and Laptops operate only with precious metals strip-mined from the blood-soaked soil of Africa. Our clothing is made by sweatshop workers that slave for hours every day in toxic conditions. Our abundant food comes from nightmarish factory farms and genetically engineered abominations. American Empire is built on immense profit and immense profit is built on immense suffering. Heaven and Hell are not far off in the sky, they are right here on earth. These are the good days for us, when death is absent from each and every corner. These are the days when you can snapchat your lunch while Hellfire missiles vaporize children. It’s easy to remain asleep when the smell of decay and cordite is 10,000 miles away.  Empires rise and fall, it’s simply a natural progression of events. Recognizing the truth now will save you from an ugly surprise later. Unfortunately, once you recognize the truth; you will have to live with a bittersweet reality.  This is why I chose to embed this particular video, we must look the truth straight in the face. We can’t afford to shy away from it. We are all complicit in this shocking violence.