Do Most Americans Really Care About a War?

[Barefootsies]

Short of you having family in the military, you live close to a war zone, or you're a defense contractor, I would say the vast majority of American's do not give shit unless it directly effects them and their daily lives. Until the day comes where the average American actually FEEL IT (i.e. war tax, draft, rationing, etc.) like in World War II, or Vietnam...

I believe it's safe to say most really could care less after a few months. Out of sight, out of mind.

[Best-In-BC]

People in general are very miss informed , there not stupid, just refuse to get enough info.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Best-In-BC

People in general are very ....

...apathetic.

Unless it directly effects, impacts, or forces a change in their daily routine. They do not care.

[purecane]

we have been at war for 11 years....still haven't seen one bomb drop in my hood.

[PR_Glen]

not much has changed in the last few hundred years though.. people unaffected by the civil war directly didn't want to jump in the trenches either. US wanted nothing to do with ww1 at the beginning, stayed pretty neutral until they were attacked directly in the second one. Generally the masses are forced into battles through necessity, or at very least the appearance of. Not through empathy.

[Fiddler]

Depends on the war I guess, this whole North Korea thing if it did ever actually happen and they had the technology they say, you'd be directly affected and you would care.

Wars like that of Iraq and Afghanistan etc, nah most of the population of the countries involved don't care.

When the Iraq war started I decided to keep a daily journal of occurrences and reports collated from several sources, I thought it'd be interesting to have in the future. I kept up with doing that for 80 days before I gave up. Even with information it's really not got a great baring on my life in a direct way.

I think what the armed forces do for their countries is great and I commend them for it but I don't even know anyone in the armed forces and so it doesn't impact me directly.

A nuke on my front door step though :/.....

[Tom_PM]

During WW2 people were asked to sacrifice and contribute and volunteer and through those efforts felt directly connected to the boys fighting on the front lines.

These days we're sold on tax breaks and told just to go spend money to defeat terrorists and we're watching some smart bomb decide on it's own what building to smash into from the comfort of our ass-grooved couches.

[Rochard]

During WWII, all Americans took part. Even if they weren't in the military they were on the "homefront". For a young man of fighting age it was considered "shameful" not to be in the military. On the bus or the train civilians gladly gave up their seats for soldiers, and in smaller towns soldiers ate and drank for free. Local police squads would take up collections and buy handguns to give to local soldiers going off to war. The amount of support was staggering, even though the war was thousands of miles away.

These days no one gives a fucking shit. It doesn't matter what your position is on what our country is doing; Our military MUST be supported at all costs. Our military doesn't want to go to war - war is hell - but the military follows orders and doesn't have a choice in the matter.

Originally Posted by purecane73

we have been at war for 11 years....still haven't seen one bomb drop in my hood.

But we haven't been at war at all really. The public seems to think it's a war, but it's not. A war is fought between two countries, and between the governments and militaries of two countries. We are not at war with Afghanistan or it's military, and we haven't been at war in Iraq or it's government or military either. People rant about how the horrible death rate for our soldiers there, but the truth is they are safer there than here in the US. The biggest killer of US Marines seems to be motorcycles here in the US instead of IEDs.

[2012]

we're at war ?

[DWB]

People stopped caring when the media stopped showing dead American boys on TV every night. Start showing dead Americans (or dead foreign women and kids) on TV every night and you'll have protests in the streets again just like they did during Vietnam.

War isn't ugly when you don't have to see it. But as soon as you are forced to see the horrible reality of it, everything changes.

"10 Americans died today in Afghanistan" has zero weight behind it. But if you show the mutilated bodies of those 10 young American boys, reality hits you pretty hard.

[DBS.US]

What's a Bitcoin?

[Probono]

Vietnam was the last war with a draft. The draft, brought the war home to millions. Have an all volunteer military is in reality having an military with an unbalanced representation of the poor and they have no voice. Want to stop American adventurism bring back the draft.

[bigluv]

1) Your country is going broke and everyone should care that much of that is military spending and bullshit "wars".

2) You can't support the troops and not support the policies. Sorry. Everybody's got a choice, and those enlisted right now cannot say they didn't know that your government does shitty things and uses the military for shitty political purposes and lies and etc etc etc.

Might be some wholesome, ill informed young kids in the military, they don't need to be treated like it was Vietnam, but they do make a choice. Nobody goes in not undertanding they are signing up to kill someone else for their government. Taking on that responsibility means, you have a duty to be somewhat educated.

If nobody would sign up, maybe your government would be more responsible with your dollars and young lives. ? [Probably not, but it might be a start.]

[BlackCrayon]

[alex.missyouth]

I have to agree with Barefootsies, most Americans don't give a fuck about all the people that could die in this potential war. That is of course unless they're somehow related to them.

[Captain Kawaii]

Originally Posted by bigluv

1) Your country is going broke and everyone should care that much of that is military spending and bullshit "wars".

2) You can't support the troops and not support the policies. Sorry. Everybody's got a choice, and those enlisted right now cannot say they didn't know that your government does shitty things and uses the military for shitty political purposes and lies and etc etc etc.

Might be some wholesome, ill informed young kids in the military, they don't need to be treated like it was Vietnam, but they do make a choice. Nobody goes in not undertanding they are signing up to kill someone else for their government. Taking on that responsibility means, you have a duty to be somewhat educated.

If nobody would sign up, maybe your government would be more responsible with your dollars and young lives. ? [Probably not, but it might be a start.]

QFT. US leadership, if you can call it that are at a Money Making Buffet (D.C.) Wars mean profit. Its been like that since forever. My peeps have been fighting/starting wars in US since 1711. Every war or conflict has been about making the rich, richer. The rich have a way of inciting/forcing the masses who tend not to pay attention. In the 60's, the Ellsberg papers should have started a revolution. Nobody cared.

[theking]

I think that many people...if not most people...do not care about events that do not personally or directly affect them. As for war...the U.S. has not fought in a war since the Congress declared war in the Second World War. Only the Congress can declare war and the declaration of war has legal ramifications.

The media...the Government and even the military has used the term "War" when in fact we have been engaged in "armed conflicts"...and most recently we have been engaged in attempted "nation building".

[TheSquealer]

I always ask myself, who is the least sincere as a person. The one who supports war or the one who talks about human suffering as if they've actually gotten off their ass to help people in Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq and so on. Pretty easy to make the claim that you care.

[pimpmaster9000]

only the corporate government and the "defense" contractors "care" about war...its good money for them and they do not have to fight them personally they just send the tools...

as for whether the US military "cares" about their little cosplay act the answer is of course: NO

like EMO-s or punks or heavy metal or gangs the US military is a place for people who have a problem with their own pathetic image and need to run from it to a world of cosplay...make believe values, costumes, lingo and of course the false feeling of being special...

its all a sham, the cospaly guys know the wars are bullshit, they know that their government is a sack of shit, they know that country x never did shit to them BUT their precious precious act is all they have in their sorry lives to show so they cling on to it no matter what the price....

[dehash]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

not much has changed in the last few hundred years though.. people unaffected by the civil war directly didn't want to jump in the trenches either. US wanted nothing to do with ww1 at the beginning, stayed pretty neutral until they were attacked directly in the second one. Generally the masses are forced into battles through necessity, or at very least the appearance of. Not through empathy.

American businessmen had a lot of thing to do with WWI.

[kane]

If the average person ins't suffering from the war then the average person doesn't care.

With Iraq and Afghanistan only a very small number of people and their families have actually sacrificed anything to fight this war. Somehow people think if they have bumper sticker or they like a picture on Facebook that they are doing their part, but in reality most people's lives have gone on without interruption and because of that the war has dragged on and on.

If they started a draft to fight these wars there would be protests all across the country just like there were during the Vietnam era and just about any politician who wasn't actively trying to find a way to end the war would be voted out, but those things aren't happening so it it all out of sight and out of mind.

[theking]

Originally Posted by crucifissio

only the corporate government and the "defense" contractors "care" about war...its good money for them and they do not have to fight them personally they just send the tools...

as for whether the US military "cares" about their little cosplay act the answer is of course: NO

like EMO-s or punks or heavy metal or gangs the US military is a place for people who have a problem with their own pathetic image and need to run from it to a world of cosplay...make believe values, costumes, lingo and of course the false feeling of being special...

its all a sham, the cospaly guys know the wars are bullshit, they know that their government is a sack of shit, they know that country x never did shit to them BUT their precious precious act is all they have in their sorry lives to show so they cling on to it no matter what the price....

Pigshit.

[francescobj]

make love, not war

[mineistaken]

whatever the media tells them

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by kane

With Iraq and Afghanistan only a very small number of people and their families have actually sacrificed anything to fight this war. Somehow people think if they have bumper sticker or they like a picture on Facebook that they are doing their part, but in reality most people's lives have gone on without interruption and because of that the war has dragged on and on.

[pimpmaster9000]

Originally Posted by theking

Pigshit.

yes yes america cares SO much

you care SO much!

dude, you don't even have the balls to engage in a debate over the internet the pinnacle of your heroics is bombing defenseless 3rd world civilians,who never did shit to you, from 30.000 feet in a high tech aircraft...

you are so FULL of care

it is OBVIOUS!

yes yes, you don't have fake values at all

[sandman!]

dont care about bs wars

[pornsprite]

Of course American's care about war even when it doesn't affect them directly. If we didn't care this country would have rolled through most of the stupid parts of the middle east after the Iraq invasion.

It's a good thing for America that the populace got involved as deeply as it did to stop that mess when it did.

[theking]

Originally Posted by crucifissio

yes yes america cares SO much

you care SO much!

dude, you don't even have the balls to engage in a debate over the internet the pinnacle of your heroics is bombing defenseless 3rd world civilians,who never did shit to you, from 30.000 feet in a high tech aircraft...

you are so FULL of care

it is OBVIOUS!

yes yes, you don't have fake values at all

I try to avoid debating with ignorant people and you are an ignorant person.

[pimpmaster9000]

Originally Posted by theking

I try to avoid debating with ignorant people and you are an ignorant person.

if you could you would...you would love to be able to explain why it is "ok" for you to drop bombs on 3rd world defenseless civilians

you would love to be able to explain why saddam had no wmd but your government and army still, somehow, deserve respect and are not criminals and terrorists

if I called you a terrorist all you would be able to say is "pigshit" because heres the definition:

ter·ror·ism
/ˈterəˌrizəm/
Noun
The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
Synonyms
terror



lets see...you use violence, check...for your masters political aims, check...fits like a glove...since ww2 (ww2 not included of course) the USA has dropped more bombs than hitler...

this is why you avoid debate...there is nothing to debate ...you are reduced to "pigshit"

thanks for korea! look at the mess it is now...good job!
thanks for vietnam! great job! what a prosperous place it is now it has "Democracy"
iraq? wow what a "rebuild" those guys LOVE you and we are all safe from saddams WMD
2 muslim nations in the heart of europe? (bosnia&kosovo) makes perfect sense! europe was always muslim!
avghanistan? pure win for the USA man you guys keep a tight ship! one can really see the progress! its not like you are full of shit


well I certainly stand corrected...the US Army really stands for something and the US people care about the world SO much they bomb it with love

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Captain Kawaii

QFT. US leadership, if you can call it that are at a Money Making Buffet (D.C.) Wars mean profit. Its been like that since forever. My peeps have been fighting/starting wars in US since 1711. Every war or conflict has been about making the rich, richer. The rich have a way of inciting/forcing the masses who tend not to pay attention. In the 60's, the Ellsberg papers should have started a revolution. Nobody cared.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by bigluv

2) You can't support the troops and not support the policies. Sorry. Everybody's got a choice, and those enlisted right now cannot say they didn't know that your government does shitty things and uses the military for shitty political purposes and lies and etc etc etc.

You sure can support the troops but not the policies. With both Iraq and Afghanistan we did not fully support the policy, but we did support our troops - unlike what we did in Vietnam.

[bigluv]

Originally Posted by Rochard

You sure can support the troops but not the policies. With both Iraq and Afghanistan we did not fully support the policy, but we did support our troops - unlike what we did in Vietnam.

Yep. And the government continued on doing as it pleased. And will do so again.

[Failed]

It sickens me to bring up politics, war, environment, and our economy to people in person or on Facebook. I generally get three responses: a lack of concern, ignorance of the subject, or a direct quote from one of the extreme left of right tv/radio personalities without an original thought of their own.

I don't even search for agreement of my views. I would take direct opposition to my views as long as it would be a thought of their own and not something implanted. It makes me really sad and I feel absolutely hopeless. If no one cares or educates themselves, we deserve the corrupt government, the war machine, a polluted environment, and the loss of jobs.

It's so sad, really! I care about my fellow humans and believe we live in one world society. We should be helping, talking, and caring - not allowing corporations and governments to kill members of our society and dictate who we're friends with and who we hate.

My poor nieces and nephews that are so young, we've all failed you.