Catherine Lutz
All the 800 US bases around the world are thus considered ‘security gifts’ to the countries they’re in. Because we’re no longer a true democracy, that has changed, particularly since Iraq and Afghanistan — but I think those who question do not impact our government much. Because protection is the first impulse of any organism, she adds, ‘When I was doing research in Fayetteville, a military town in North Carolina, one veteran said, ‘We have to have a military.
Lutz says, ‘It shows two things. Catherine Lutz is talking about mega-wars and massive destruction — as calmly as possible. When TE asks her what drives the United States into war, the historian ponders carefully before replying. ‘In the post-World War II period, I’d say the US government belief — shared widely through propagation — that the US was the world’s most advanced nation and had a moral obligation to protect freedom, often by acting in a unilateral way. In the last decade, when you look at who really stood up to Donald Trump , it’s been Liz Cheney, Cassidy Hutchinson, many women in our Supreme Court, in Congress, organisers at ‘No Kings’ rallies, etc. American women are key in protecting US democracy — but militarisation makes us overlook that. TE takes in this astonishing figure, then asks, ‘Many Americans oppose war but don’t figure in decisions made about this — what does that tell us? First, for many years, people have seen foreign policy as less relevant to their lives, something that happens out there, run by experts, not needing much thought by us. Each year, we have fallen further down on that list of carefully measured democratic principles and behaviours that our nation engages in. Many Americans think, for instance, the amount spent on war is too much and there should be greater investment at home. But a factor that gets in the way is the belief — again, promoted by those profiting from it — that the military budget creates jobs. Those beliefs are easily challenged by research like ours, which shows each billion dollars of federal US spending on war creates far fewer jobs than when invested in healthcare, education, construction or science. He was referring to a belief that human nature is tooth and claw and we are basically territorial animals who must fight. That contrasts to the belief that the central impulse of any human organism is connection and contribution to people around you. Those two views have struggled in America — and the idea that we’re mainly tooth and claw has powerful purchase.’
Else, today, when we say, ‘Thank you for your service’, we would be talking about our teachers and healthcare providers, mainly occupations filled by women, who are also central in protecting our democracy.
