Soldier Porn: Why Do Reporters Act Like Giddy Schoolgirls Around the Military?

[Magda Hassan]

As an outsider it has always puzzeled me this infatuation with the military that the US has. Marching bands in high schools modeled on a military style. The whole 'suppport our troops' mantra is just weird. And it seems almost universal. Even people like Michael Moore etc do it too. There may well be political or tactical reasons for taking this stance. Social/commercial ostracism if you don't for example. For me US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today are no different to German soldiers in Poland or Lybia in 1940. They should not be there. Have no right there. No business being there. Sure it is their commander in chief and the higher ups who make the orders but they don't happen if people don't carry them out. There are far better things to be and aspire to than being a soldier but they seem to be put on some sort of pedalstool there and hero worshipped. The spilling of the sacred blood is a holy ritual higher than all others (just don't ask for all your benefits if you come back in pieces). The scars of battle to be worn proudly (just the physical ones though keep the crazy scars hidden as it spoilds the noble soldier image) blah blah blah. Meanwhile people that actually do things and make a better place to live in people like nurses and firemen and gardeners are totally ignored. Invisible. In this country I feel like I can criticise the role of the military and still be listened to. It is just another institution. There are some military groupies here but small in number and IQ and positions of influence.