[lit-ideas] Re: FW: Santa Claus Visits a Marine
- From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 13:45:05 -0500
Good point, actually. It's certainly an emotional appeal to the us/them.
It shows the soldier as almost childlike in his innocence and, in so many
words, sacrificing himself for us. I'm hearing a definite religious
undertone in this too. Santa Claus is the secular side of a religious
holiday. Religion as well as nationalism appeal to and exploit the us/them
so necessary for warfare. Calling all philosophers: isn't there a
philosophy of "the other"? I know Marlena means other in a good way and
I'm not impugning her use of it, or referring to her use of it, only the
generally divisive nature of the word, the philosophy behind it.
Who said the following: "... I shall give a propaganda reason for starting
the war, whether it is plausible or not. The victor will not be asked
whether he told the truth. When starting and waging a war it is not right
that matters, but victory." Bush you say? Wrong, Hitler before he invaded
Poland. Bottom line: collective good is relative and usually bloody.
Quote from page 616, Allan Bullock.
> [Original Message]
> From: Andreas Ramos <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 12/26/2005 1:15:21 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: FW: Santa Claus Visits a Marine
>
> Probably written by the US Military's disinformation unit.
>
> yrs,
> andreas
> www.andreas.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "lit-ideas" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, December 26, 2005 10:03 AM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] FW: Santa Claus Visits a Marine
>
>
> >I really should have addressed this to Eric and Marlena. The point is
that what we think
> >of as good is really just collective violence, sometimes an excuse for
collective violence.
> >
> >
> > The poem below was sent to me by a part-time staff members who does
research for me over
> > the Internet (I've never met her in person). I hired her (based on a
telephone
> > conversation) out of one-hundred applicants because of her kind,
enthusiastic personality
> > and efficient demeanor.
> > She's a devout Christian. The poem was accompanied by the following
note:
> >
> > "This poem was written by a Marine. The following is his request. I
think it is
> > reasonable....PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this
to as many people as
> > you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S. service men and
> > women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in
this small way to
> > pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our
heroes, living and dead,
> > who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant
this small seed."
> >
> > The Marine in his poem depicts a visit by Santa Claus. Through the eyes
of St. Claus, the
> > author of the poem (the Marine) tells us how he sees himself.
> >
> > I spoke to another staff member who works in-house, another good person
who is in touch
> > with typical Americans. He tells me that the thoughts of the Marine and
those of the lady
> > who sent me the poem are typical of how most (if not all) of the
Americans he knows think.
> >
> > Please study this document carefully. It constitutes empirical data
telling us a great
> > deal about the meaning of war.
> >
> > The soldier thinks of himself as a good, kind person who has acted on
behalf of the
> > defense of America's sacred values.
> >
> > The young lady embraces the idea of the "sacred soldier." She considers
him a Hero who has
> > sacrificed himself for the American people. The soldier conceives of
himself as someone
> > who has fought for God and country-for the freedom and security of
America.
> >
> > These statements may seem like clichés, but they reflect the
foundational ideology of the
> > United States. We may hypothesize that the re-election of President
Bush (in spite of the
> > many blunders of his first term) was based on the fact that millions of
people possess
> > ideas that are not unlike those of this Marine and young lady.
> >
> > Are these the people that you want to accuse of being evil? The
capacity for a nation to
> > go to war DEPENDS ON THE BELIEFS OF PEOPLE LIKE THESE. Wars are fought
in the name of
> > sacred values--values that constitute the basis for a national
identity. Without these
> > shared values, it would be difficult to maintain a national identity.
> >
> > Belief in the goodness of a nation's sacred values (and the desire to
defend them)
> > generates warfare and its atrocities. The sense of goodness and
collective violence CANNOT
> > BE SEPARATED. When Iraq was in the process of being attacked and
bombed, the song "God
> > Bless America, Land that I love" echoed on radio stations throughout
the country.
> >
> > Solving the problem of war thus requires extensive reflection. If it
were simply a
> > question of doing away with evil, war would constitute no problem.
People would simply put
> > the evil-doers-those who generate slaughter-into jail. However,
collective violence
> > usually is undertaken in the name of goodness; for the sake of
preserving and defending a
> > society's sacred values. This being the case, resolving the problem of
war requires
> > insight, complex thought, and subtle tactics.
> >
> > This is the paradox: the manner in which goodness and massive
destruction are bound
> > together. If it were simply a question of ranting against evil, this
listserv would not be
> > necessary. Societal forms of violence like war arise out of the belief
in goodness; are
> > carried out in the name of a society's sacred values.
> >
> > Merry Christmas to All and thanks very much for sticking with this
arduous task of working
> > to "awaken from the nightmare of history."
> >
> > Richard Koenigsberg
> > ______________________________________________________________________
> > IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
> >
> > HE LIVED ALL ALONE, IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE
> > CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID
LIVE.
> >
> > I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
> > NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, ON THE WALL HUNG
PICTURES OF FAR
> > DISTANT LANDS.
> >
> > WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME
THROUGH MY MIND. FOR
> > THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, I FOUND THE HOME OF A
SOLDIER, ONCE I
> > COULD SEE CLEARLY. THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE, CURLED UP
ON THE FLOOR IN
> > THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
> >
> > THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER, NOT HOW I PICTURED A
UNITED STATES
> > SOLDIER.
> > WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE
FLOOR FOR A BED?
> >
> > I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT, OWED THEIR LIVES TO
THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE
> > WILLING TO FIGHT. SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, AND
GROWNUPS WOULD
> > CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
> >
> > THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE
SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE
> > LYING HERE. I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE, ON A COLD
CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND
> > FAR FROM HOME. THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, I DROPPED TO
MY KNEES AND
> > STARTED TO CRY.
> >
> > THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, "SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS
LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
> > I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY
COUNTRY, MY CORPS." THE
> > SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I
CONTINUED TO WEEP.
> >
> > I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM
THE COLD NIGHT'S
> > CHILL. I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, THIS GUARDIAN
OF HONOR SO
> > WILLING TO FIGHT. THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND
PURE, WHISPERED,
> > "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE." ONE LOOK AT MY
WATCH, AND I KNEW HE
> > WAS RIGHT. "MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
>
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