[lbo-talk] lunatic at large

[Jon Johanning]

The fact, which supporters of the military never want to admit, is that 
the only frame of mind which can sustain a world view in which one's 
own country is seen as an island of the good and true which must 
constantly beat back a sea of evil -- i.e., the world view of the 
majority of US citizens at this point -- has to be religious 
fanaticism. Without this kind of mindless religious "faith," which is 
characterized by an identification of oneself with the creator of the 
universe and one's opponents with the "Satan" who is locked in eternal 
combat with that creator, one cannot deal out death day by day and stay 
sane, because one day, in the end,, one will have to face the truth: it 
is just one bunch of human beings murdering another. This Boykin fellow 
is just a typical example of this fanaticism who happens to be 
especially prominent at this point. There are countless others just 
like him in the military and its civilian supporters.

This world view sees life as a constant struggle with imminent death -- 
kill or be killed is the only way to live. The more US soldiers killed 
in Iraq, the more these people are confirmed in their belief. The great 
success of the film "Kill Bill" is an example of how this murderous 
attitude can show up among the most refined, sophisticated esthetes as 
well as the "common masses."

Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org
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A gentleman haranguing on the perfection of our law, and that it was 
equally open to the poor and the rich, was answered by another, 'So is 
the London Tavern.' -- "Tom Paine's Jests..." (1794); also attr. to 
John Horne Tooke (1736-1812) by Hazlitt