Amerikan Sniper

Every so often a gem of honesty can be gleamed from mainstream media.  I was watching an epic movie staged in second century Rome recently where this question is asked: what is Rome?  The response from another character in the movie was: Rome is an idea.  Can anyone argue with that?

I sometimes pose the same question in political discussion when people desire to defend Amerika and justify her continuous wars.  I ask; what is Amerika?  Usually there is never a response to the question.  When there is a response, it is usually personal and filled with propagated mantras and an invitation to move out of the country.

I also ask: what is an Amerikan?  Why is Amerika always seen as ‘good’ and moving forward while the rest of the world seen as ‘bad’ and moving backwards?  

I dare answer the question: programming.  History books narrate justifications defending government efforts.  Popular movies are produced to romanticize war and a ‘just cause.’  News media promote certain talking points while ignoring condemning facts.  Narrative promoters are deified while detractors criticized, but arguments rarely meaningfully answered.  

Much like the person born into a particular religious culture finds it difficult to look objectively past their programmed upbringing, so does the Amerikan patriot have a hard time making sense of their ‘Christian nation’ while Christ preaches “love your enemy.”  Their illogical duality isn’t questioned.  Instead, all actions are justified.  Religion becomes a drape to hide behind and faith is seen as words memorized.  

Dropping bombs in the name of a god while condemning those who don’t believe in your god is quite the mental stretch of believability.  Could you blame others for not embracing a god who says one thing but always does another?  As you can tell, religion is also used in the program.